seattle

Womxn’s March Seattle, 2017

January 30, 2017 by [email protected]

I attended the Womxn’s March in Seattle on January 21, the first day of my last period (not “last” as in it will never happen again but a woman can dream). I felt like it was necessary to mention this detail because every time I go to the doctor and they ask me when my last period was, I always lie. I went to the doctor today for my routine annual physical and before they pap smeared and blood sucked they asked me that question and I knew exactly what to say. I often take it for granted that I can go to a doctor and not worry about the bills that will get sent to me a few days later. Matt has health insurance through his job and though I’ve opted to be on his insurance, my workplace grants me similar benefits. But still, I’m young, healthy and I take it for granted. My access to healthcare is a privilege. It sounds completely backward to gamble on something like this and yet, it is still up for debate….

Shout out + Seared halibut with herbed fennel slaw

May 18, 2016 by Edlyn

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I owe someone a thank you note.

Last last weekend, I stood on a stage with 3 other women and played bass in my first rock band. It was a culmination of 2 days of meeting total strangers – with little to a lot to no musical experience, and being in a band with them, and thinking that they were the coolest people in the world, and wondering WHAT AM I DOING HERE and a mad karaoke party, and finally, belonging.

If I rewind to what are known as “the formative years”, I’ll tell you I wasn’t really Miss Outgoing. I’d clam up in front of strangers. I remember my mother telling people we were shy. There are photos of us with lowered chins and sneaky upward glances that were probably taken by strangers we were too shy to even look at. Past that phase, the awkwardness manifested into insecurity (typical teenager, right?). I wouldn’t discuss my favourite music with people I thought were too cool for me. I wouldn’t even talk to them.

Last year around this same time, I spoke in front of mostly people I didn’t really know that well except that they were by far some of the coolest women and humans on this planet. It wasn’t so much as I was speaking in front of people but that I was talking directly to women I idolise for being so revolutionary. My body turned very warm, I was shaking, and stuttering but I spoke. I didn’t even need to but when my turn came, I knew I had to get over this pre-anxiety anxiety.

This year, I played bass in an effing band. It’s something I would have never done for myself. I’m still always overthinking everything and feeling like I can never quite live up to the hype that my existence sometimes (rarely) creates. Somehow someone knew and they gave silly me a chance to leave all of that heavy shit aside and be in a band for 3 days. They gave me my favourite vocalist, my favourite drummer and guitarist. They gave me years worth of missed chances at hanging out not just talking *about* the band but actually being *in* it. Then they gave me red lipstick. They gave me Tri Bull.

This all looks very far from a thank you but trust me, gratitude has been pouring out of my skin. I got the rock camp glow. Life has been kind of rollercoaster-y for me these past few years (please take a seat and read this blog. You’ll see). But I’ve always had solid constant sources of power (my family yay!) to bring me right back up from these slumps. In 2012, I added photography and in 2013, it was Rain City Rock Camp for Girls (RCRC). Volunteering for this organisation has been nothing short of feeling like I’m walking around with a bag full of lightning bolts and wisdom to know when I need to use them or pass them around to those who might need them more. If you’re reading this and you know me even from limited interaction, you should know that I am my best self because of these women. I take that out into the world with me as much as I can and I try my best everyday to mould myself exactly on the values this organisation was founded on. It’s inclusive, it strives to be diverse (I love that!) and it gives us the tools to be positive role models to the people in our lives. When you go around trying to be under the radar, it’s like lightning to realise you’ve been noticed. It’s enough for me to volunteer but I know I’ve gotten so much more out of being a camper.

My thank you note is also encouragement for you to get involved as little of as much as you can. Right now, they have a wishlist you can view here and also a Disneyland-esque volunteer opportunities in Seattle and the South Sound the summer, which you can sign up for right here and here. World-famous musicians will play for you at lunch time and also be fellow volunteers WHAT!! This is not an exaggeration.

Thank you to all the donors and people that form the backbone of this organisation. Thank you for asking me to come to Ladies Rock Camp and then giving me a coach I’ve always admired and a band that I really want to go on tour with. Maybe? Yes? You really really really change lives in a way that can be hard to put into words (….she says after writing 1 million paragraphs). You gave this publicly quiet one the space to be heard and this is my shout out to you.

If you’re visiting this space for the first time, hello! I know it’s strange that I write about fish and thank people for changing lives in the same post but it’s impossible for me to separate food from real life stuff. These two things go together and my blog does not ignore that. It would mean the world to me if you share posts if you like them but I’m just as happy with awkward sideways glances, a comment in person or on the post. I accept them all.

Now for the food.

Notes:

The way I’ve made the fish is inspired by how my family in Goa makes it. It’s the most basic marination most people use for seafood in my state. We even leave out the garlic. The only difference here is that I used paprika instead of chilli powder and lemon juice instead of lime. There is still some spice in this dish thanks to the slaw dressing.

Ingredients

For the fennel slaw

1 medium shallot, halved and thinly sliced
1 tbsp sugar
Big pinch of kosher salt
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 heads of fennel, quartered and shaved to 1/8 inch thickness
1/2 heaping cup of fresh dill, thyme and mint, roughly chopped
1/4 cup golden raisins
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp honey
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (add more if you want more heat)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste

Toss the shallot, sugar and salt in a small mason jar and let it sit for 5 minutes. Add the apple cider vinegar, cover the jar and swirl around to mix well. In about 10 minutes, scoop out the shallots with a fork.

Add the fennel, shallots, herbs and raisins to a salad bowl.

Whisk the lemon juice, honey and pepper pepper flakes in a jar. Pour in the olive oil in a thin stream whisking until combined. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Refrigerate all the food until the halibut is cooked.

For the fish

1 lb halibut, skinned and cut into 2-inch chunks
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 lemon, juiced
Cooking oil, to coat the bottom of a pan

Toss all the ingredients in a bowl and let it sit in the fridge for an hour (minimum).

Place a pan on medium-high heat and coat the bottom with cooking oil. Once the pan is sufficiently hot, add the halibut to it. The fish should sizzle as soon as it touches the surface. Cook on one side for about 4 minutes without disturbing it. Peek to see if it has darker sear marks and then flip over and cook for 2-3 more minutes on the other side.

To assemble:

Plate up some fennel slaw and toss with the dressing. Serve the just-cooked halibut with the cool slaw on flat bread or over brown rice.

Sunchoke mango soup with a side of self-discovery

May 21, 2015 by Edlyn

This Friday after work I went right to my next job – volunteering as a photographer for Ladies Rock Camp here in Seattle. While the rest of my co-workers were talking about how tired they were, I was bragging and doing leaps of joy that I was going to be on my feet for the rest of the day. I love Rain City Rock Camp for Girls. It’s my therapy. I love the work that we do and the environment we’re creating for girls and women to go through these amazing life-altering transformations. I’ve witnessed it and it’s magical. The part that brings me the most joy is that every woman and girl is encouraged to be 100% themselves without any fear of judgement. There are no expectations to be perfect and you are given the tools to tackle almost any real-world problem by other badass-at-life women. How often do you see that?! All you need to do is say “YES” and you can be one of us. If you’re in Seattle and you want to Power Up! and Activate! with RCRC, this is your chance. There are opportunities for volunteers for 2 week-long summer camps available right now. Here’s where you can sign up. Oh and in case you were wondering: You don’t need to have music experience.

Now for some things I’d love to discuss more in the comments/or in real life if you’re up for it.

– I can be an introvert and still make an impact: I’ve seen a lot of people put away their ability to interact with others in some of the most important situations only because they feel that it’s just their personality and “what could I possibly do to affect change!?” I was one of those people. I took the label and went with it because it gave me comfort. I was happy to let others talk. I didn’t think I had much to add, knowing that deep down it wasn’t even the truth. I have so many gifts and I want to share them all. Sometimes it’s overwhelming because I’m required to turn whatever I thought about myself as true, on its head. But I do it because I want to be a better person. I am more than just an introvert. Life isn’t about doing what makes you comfortable. That job is reserved for mac and cheese.

– Self-care/love is a radical act: This.

– And speaking of self, here’s a little bit about Anita Hill, a lady I’m glad I now know about: “Testifying has helped me understand that one individual’s behaviour and actions make a difference. That my actions are important to people other than myself.” You can watch a documentary about/named after her on Netflix.

What are your views about “self” and the whole being an introvert pride? If I’m with one person, I tend to put them first. If I’m around many, I hide in the background and am happy to let others lead me around. BUT deep in my heart, I know that I want to be known for more than just being quiet. I’ve always been told by Matt, my friends and family that I need to share my creative talents, yet this “self” (whom I have a love-hate relationship with) that dictates my interactions has been holding me back. I have things I want to do! Being shy isn’t going to help that. I love taking downtime, don’t get me wrong. But once I’ve recharged, I would like to take on the world with more gusto. Hey new me! Happy almost birthday.

Which brings me to mango season (not sure how) – a season that’s non-existent in Washington. But it is in Goa and maybe Mexico. I’m lucky that we get mangoes for sale at grocery stores here. I don’t buy them often but when I do, I feel extra super-Goan. I know how to cut them, how to eat them around the seed and make a whole mess of my clothes doing so. Every time I do, I feel like I never left home. Sometimes it’s okay not to buy local, I think. You just have to trust yourself.

Sunchoke mango soup

Notes

My way of picking the best mango for this soup is to look for one that almost yellow but that still has some green on the skin. If you press it, it should be hard but not so hard that you can’t cut through it. Almost ripe mangoes have that sweetness but are still somewhat sour, giving your food that perfect sweet-sour balance.
This was my first time cooking with sunchokes, also known as Jerusalem artichokes. They are hard to peel but all the best foods are! If you aren’t using them immediately once you peel and prep them, place them in a bowl of cold water to prevent discoloration. If you aren’t planning on peeling them, scrub the mud off them and use the same way. The peel might make your soup look a little different but it shouldn’t affect the taste.
My food processor is teeny tiny so I needed to puree the soup in 2 batches. This meant nothing except I had to divide the cream into 1/4 amounts while blending.
My 2-part ingredients list has a part just for something we call “tadka” or tempering. Here is NPR’s explanation of it. You will need to use oils that can withstand high temperatures. I used bacon fat because it was just sitting there in a pan across from me all morning. I’m crazy. You do you.
This soup can be served warm or cold. If you’re going to eat it as a cold soup, make the tadka just before you serve it up. It cannot be made in advance. The best part is, it takes less than a minute once you have all your ingredients in front of you.

Ingredients

2 tbsp coconut oil
1/2 yellow onion, diced
3 stalks spring garlic, cut in rounds (or you can use 2 cloves garlic)
2 cups sunchokes, peeled and chopped evenly in 1/4 inch pieces
1 cup almost-ripe mango, skin removed and diced
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
4 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1/2 cup heavy cream or coconut milk (optional)
Pea sprouts, to garnish

For the tadka

2 tbsp bacon fat or coconut oil or ghee
2 tsp black mustard seeds
4-5 dried red chillies (I used chile de arbol)

Place a soup pot on medium-high heat. Once the pot heats up evenly, add 2 tbsp of oil to it. Wait for a minute and add the onion and spring garlic to the oil. Give them a light stir every now and then until they soften a bit. Next add the sunchokes and give it a big stir so that it’s well coated with the oil and onion-garlic flavours. Let it cook for just a minute and then add the diced mango. Stir to combine and let it all cook for 2 minutes. Add the chilli powder and ground turmeric, mix it all together and breathe. It’s going to taste amazing. Add the vegetable or chicken stock into the soup pot and bring to a simmer on the same medium-high heat. Once the stock starts to simmer, turn down the heat to a slow simmer. Place a lid on top of the pot, leaving a slit open for steam to escape. Let the soup cook for about 20 minutes, until the sunchokes are just tender. Once that happens, take the pot off the stove and let it cool slightly before blending.

Pour half the contents of the soup pot into a high speed blender or food processor. Add the cream or coconut milk if using (it tastes good with either or neither) and blend until it turns to a smooth puree. Once you’ve pureed all the soup, add it back to the and add salt to taste. Let the soup warm up.

While the soup is doing its thing, place a pan on medium high heat. Have all your other ingredients for the tadka ready because you’ll be adding them in quick succession. To the pan, add 2 tbsp of bacon fat or coconut oil or ghee depending on what you’re using and let it heat until it starts to almost smoke. Quickly add the mustard seeds. They should start to pop immediately. Wait 5 seconds and then add the dried red chillies. Stir constantly and fast, being very careful (hot oil/popping mustard…all fun stuff) for about 10 seconds more and then take the pan off the heat. Spoon the tadka – oil and everything – on top of the soup. Mix it all into the soup, garnish with pea sprouts.

Strawberry miso ice-cream, melting all over the place

July 2, 2014 by Edlyn

I wanted to write this post as a short summery of things this past week. Hahahaha. I punned “summary”. Get it? Okay I’ll stop.

Instead, I don’t feel very much like summaries. So many things happened, making this week feel longer than it actually was. Right now is a good time for me not to think. While I’m working on that, I’d like to let you know that by the end of next month we might have a new house. That’s crazy. If you haven’t already gauged from my posts thus far, change is scary for me. My tendency is to humanise everything. Right from a piece of furniture to carpet – to me they are all starring characters in my own Beauty and the Beast movie. This flat that we live in right now is a part of me. I began this weirdo journey living in a new country right inside these walls. The times it felt like a prison are now outnumbered by the times I desperately want to retreat in it. It’s kind of cozy and it’s the one place I know exactly where to go to take food photos. Concrete balcony floor person, you will be sorely missed. I want to hug you.

I’d like to decipher the new place before I tell you about it. For now, the kitchen is imperfect. I know I should care more but it doesn’t matter. We are already s o b l e s s e d. We (might) have a house. It doesn’t feel real so I am going to keep saying (might). Just like that.

My goal right now is to find lots of boxes. Another goal is to throw tons of crap away. (Is any American human reading this a woman’s size 8? I have shoes that I would like to give you.)

Another goal is to not get into fights with Matt. He’s my husband. Say hi! He just made rice for the second time in his life. So proud.

For someone who didn’t want to summarise, I got mighty lippy there didn’t I?

On a different note, send lots of good vibes to The Netherlands as the prepare to win their first World Cup ever!! I might be getting ahead of myself, but actually I’m not. If you live in America, go to Google and type in “Belgium”.

Yeaaaaaaaa buddy.

And if you live in Washington state right now, look up the weather! Apparently it’s a heat wave. I’m waving to this heat because this is a mild Goan winter or late January weather. I’ll take it. With arms wide open. While I’m hugging this weather, I made some ice-cream. There are few things that match homemade ice-cream and thanks to the power of this wonderful season, we have abundant ingredients to make it feel like we’re a lucky people. Summer in these parts is a gift.

Just as well, I am hoping for the monsoon to hit India already. My heart is always there and each time I talk to my mother, it bothers me that they still don’t have rain. Take some of ours, I wish I could say. This weather change isn’t good for agriculture. Food, food, food. This is where it all comes back to. That and money. There’s no better case for buying more locally and doing so responsibly.

BUT ICE-CREAM. Let’s get to the point.

Other ice-cream recipes from my past are here and here. Then there’s this one.

Strawberry miso ice-cream

I learnt how to make ice-cream without an ice-cream maker from David Lebovitz‘ blog. Of course, when Matt bought four pints of strawberries this past Sunday, I was bound to go back to his blog to look for an ice-cream recipe that would benefit hugely from these Skagit Valley beauties. They are sweet, imperfect, and encapsulate this crazy beautiful season of Washington in their red-seeded bodies. The addition of mellow white miso is what intrigued me the most about this recipe and surely there was no way I was going to change it. Plus this was more of a frozen custard than ice-cream. SOLD! SOLD! SOLD! Adding egg yolks and roasted fruit to ice-cream is the way it should always be.

The ice-cream custard can be made a day before and the strawberries can be roasted on the same day or even three days ahead, as the original recipe suggests. I roasted them on the same day (i.e. today).

Ingredients

Adapted from David Lebovitz

For the ice-cream

1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup turbinado sugar
1 3/4 cups heavy whipping cream
5 egg yolks (large eggs)
2 tbsp mellow white miso (I used this brand)

In a medium saucepan, add the milk and sugar and warm on the stove until the sugar dissolves completely. The milk should be warm but not at boiling temp. While the milk is warming take a large bowl and fill it about 1/2 way with ice and water. This will be your ice bath. Place a medium-sized bowl in the ice bath and pour the heavy cream into it.

Beat the egg yolks with the miso until combined in another bowl. Add about 1/2 a cup of the warm milk to the egg yolks a little at a time, whisking constantly as you go. If you don’t have the whisk action going, you might cook the egg yolks and that’s not what you need. Turn down the heat on the stove to low and add the yolk-mix mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining milk. Keep whisking constantly until it gets a thicker consistency (and coats the back of a spoon). This takes about 15 to 20 minutes of continuous whisking but it’s so worth it. Turn up the heat a little if you feel it’s taking longer than 20 minutes.

Using a strainer, pour the custard into the whipping cream that’s sitting in the ice bath. The strainer will catch the miso particles and also create a silkier texture for your ice-cream. Mix well and keep in the fridge overnight or for a minimum of 6 hours.

For the roasted strawberries

2.2 kg/1 lb fresh strawberries (about 2 pints)
2 tbsp vanilla syrup (or your sweetener of choice)
1 tsp balsamic vinegar

Heat your oven to 375 degrees F.

Line a 9 inch cake tin with aluminum foil (double up if you need to) and add the strawberries to it. Mix in the vanilla syrup and balsamic vinegar and mix well with your cleanest kitchen hands. Spread them out in the cake tin as much as you can and pop them in the oven for 40 minutes on a rack at the top 3/4 of the oven. At the 15 minute mark, pull out the cake tin and mix the strawberries around. Put it back in the oven. Mix them around once again at some point in the roasting process. The strawberries are ready when the juices have thickened.

Pour out the strawberries and juices into a bowl and cut them up into smaller pieces with a kitchen scissor. Let it cool.

To make the ice-cream

Pour the ice-cream custard into an ice-cream maker and add the strawberries to it right after. Freeze according to manufacturer’s instructions if you haven’t shared some with the neighbours and/or stuck your hand spoon into it soon after.

Additional notes:

*If you feel like using a baking sheet to roast the strawberries, do it. I learnt that there is no wrong way to roast a strawberry unless you burn the holy geez out of it. In that case, maybe there is a wrong way.

*The first link right after the second photo has a method to make ice-cream without a machine. It is more work but it works. I’ve done it before and if you’re the kind that obsesses about food things, I’m sure you won’t mind the extra effort it requires for the “worth it” results.

Spring-y socca flatbread with walnut pesto – This wild goose

May 17, 2014 by Edlyn

A week of not breathing, consuming a lot of information and 1/4 of a cake, crashing (happily) into lots of wonderful people, heartfelt talks that sometimes got a little too heated for any real ideas to be born, and I’m not ready for a weekend of relaxation. When a physical to-do list is as long as the other list you make in your head that tells you that you’re never going to see the end, burnout is inevitable. It always is – at least for me – quite spectacular.

As it usually goes with overwhelming times, I retreat. We were promised a week of personality-exploding sunshine and it was delivered. Everybody was happy. They said so with their brightly-printed clothing choices and general willingness to have more of a conversation instead of hurrying away from the rain. Right now, it’s raining…a bit. I can hear duck babies (SPRING!) outside and how the heck did the clock just strike 11 pm?! Days go by too fast. Catching up seems impossible.

Maybe I should stop trying. I gained so much since the last time we spoke. Not enlightenment, but ideas….that I feel strange sharing on my half brain-half food blog. I volunteered at Ladies Rock Camp for the second time and I never, ever come back from there as the same person. Let’s just say I will no longer respond with anger to a system that has been in place since the beginning of time. It’s a simple question: Do you believe women should have rights that are equal to what a man enjoys? If you say yes, then HEY! You’re a feminist. No matter what you identify as. I hardly know much of this struggle but I will call you out if you resort to archaic ideas of describing people and situations. We’re much more empowered with ideas today and I feel very grateful that I have a strong female community to go back to every time I need to be sat down in a spinning chair and have my mind blown.

Oh! I can’t forget my country has a new Prime Minister and news flash: He’s a mass murderer. These are my views and maybe if I was in India, I’d have this post taken down. If you’re in the US, the country from where I write this, you probably don’t care considering the news media here is still infatuated with Conservative V/s Liberal. I wrote a piece for a Seattle-based news blog so if you want to know more about the world’s largest democracy, this is where you can go. From the stand point of food, this election is everything. The last government allowed the entry of the crazies like Wal Mart and Tesco, and you know how amazing that always is for the small farmer. This to-be Prime Minister shouted his development plans for the country and maybe that was how he won. I just don’t see anything realistic about development when Wal Mart is in the same sentence. Meanwhile, our farmers are still killing themselves over the inability to pay back the smallest of small loans (If you measure the cost in dollars) after failed crops. I have this idea of starting a website to crowd source money directly to these farm families. I know I would need to do a lot of ground survey work because people won’t just put money into something invisible. If you know someone who is already doing this, please direct me to them. I would love to help. If not, this is my seed of an idea. Consider sharing it. I am not the most intelligent person if you stick me in a classroom full of people studying social policy but I feel it’s okay to have an idea.

This weather update from 40 minutes ago is brought to you by Matt’s inherited Westminster-chiming clock: I just saw sun.

So I’ll take that as a sign that this day is precious. For some it might be painful but oh these times, they just don’t wait around for us.

“…Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting —
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.”

– an excerpt from Wild Geese by Mary Oliver

I knew I wanted to try socca as soon as I saw it as a part of this recipe. It’s so easy so why not? I can answer that. I had a big bag of besan (chickpea flour) in the kitchen which I had used only once in an attempt to make khandvi. That was a big mistake. First of all, I was warned how insane such an act would be and second of all, it tasted so chickpea-y flour-y. That’s supposed to be a good thing, I know. But I’ve eaten plenty of bhajji and pakodas to know that this was a very foreign-tasting chickpea flour. I wanted to work it out between us and so I did. With lemon. Chickpea flour and I have been good friends since then. The toppings were courtesy a fridge clean-up.

Ingredients

For the socca

Adapted from Dolly and Oatmeal

1/2 cup (75 gm) chickpea flour/ besan
1/2 cup warm water
A pinch of salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp olive oil + a tsp more to coat a skillet

For the walnut pesto

113 gm fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
4-6 garlic cloves, depending of their size (4 for large and 6 if they’re small)
1/4 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
1/8 cup + 2 tbsp olive oil
Salt to taste

For the vegetable toppings

1 medium crown broccoli, chopped into small pieces
1/4 cup fresh or frozen peas
1 whole green onion/scallion, chopped into rounds
A handful of fresh herbs like thyme, oregano and chives, (a tbsp of each, if I was guessing)
A squeeze of lemon juice

Pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees F and lightly coat the bottom of a 9-inch cast iron skillet with some olive oil. In a medium bowl, whisk together all the ingredients for the socca. Break down all the flour lumps and let it sit for 30 minutes.

In a food processor, add the basil leaves and cheese and let them blend on a high-speed. Turn off the machine and use a spatula to guide the leaves that stick to the side, back to where the blades are. Turn the processor back on and add the garlic, walnuts and olive oil (<in a thin stream) to the almost pesto. If you feel like you need more olive oil, add it one tablespoon at a time. Let it all blend into a smooth paste and then set it aside.

Once the oven is sufficiently heated, place the cast-iron skillet on a rack in the middle for about 5-7 minutes. Pull it out of the oven (safely. The handle will be hot), give the chickpea flour mix one last big stir and pour it into the skillet. Use the handle to spread it all around, until it’s one large, yellow pancake. Put it in the oven for 8 minutes and let it cook on the bottom. Pull out the skillet and using a high heat-safe spatula, carefully flip over the socca. You’ll know it’s ready when it pulls away from the edge of the skillet. Put the skillet back in the oven for two more minutes and it’s done.

This step can be done while the socca is in the oven. Chop about 1/2 cup to a cup of broccoli into small pieces and steam it along with the peas. Cut up the green onions, chives and de-leaf (is that a word? It is now) the thyme and oregano so it’s ready to go on the perfect finger food.

Now back to the socca, place it on a serving plate and spread a generous amount of pesto on the top. Add the broccoli, peas and green onions and sprinkle with fresh herbs. Squeeze a little bit of lemon juice on the top and serve warm.

Happiest of eating times!

(Note: You will have more pesto than this recipe requires, which I promise, is a very good thing. Use it on eggs, sandwiches and on pasta. It also freezes well, if your self-control allows you to let it stay around that long.)

Everything is a sign + Roasted squash pizza

August 16, 2013 by Edlyn

Like this past Sunday when I told myself 10 times that I will not be able to carry another cooler filled with stuff and put it on a dolly and then roll it to “our spot”, a place marked with chalk initials, all on a downhill slope. Everything was escaping from me. My lower back (use your knees), my grip, the dolly, and reasons why I was doing this. But I did it anyway because it seemed logical. If I quit, I’d get fired and that would seem illiogical. So I did it. When the time came to wrap things up, we undid what we just did a few hours earlier. Un-canopied the canopy, unhooked the generator, unplugged the boom box, propped it back up on the dolly and rolled it to the van…you know, the opposite. A couple serenaded me while I toyed with this new word I learnt: “Cambro…caaam-bro…*very fast* cambro…” Cambro. They sounded good together. They stayed till I finished the heavy lifting, ukulele sounds coupled with my half-panting, half-not so much.

They were a sign. A good sign.

That was the beginning and the end. The middle was a different sort of test. With a brain so easily confusable (not a word, I know), I got my first lesson in giving the customer what s/he wants. And while I did that, I made small talk about Pushkar and fish that aren’t scared of humans. I think those are called koi but I never said that because I associate koi with ponds and a bunch of overfed fish swimming really close and touching tails. Groups of living things doing living things give me the shivers. Okay then. While I had to ask people at least 2 times what they wanted to eat, I found sneaky not-so-“I’m a little slow” ways to do it. I was the most scared of giving a vegetarian chicken but, I made it, with one near miss (not related to vegetarian-y things). Then Diane came along. She wanted to trade a birch dream-catcher she was making under the tree for a bowl of quinoa. She smiled really big and introduced herself, telling us she was walking around the market trading food for the dream-catchers. I asked her if she was very creative and she said she’d like to think so. She got her bowl of sunshine vegetarian quinoa and my boss got a dream-catcher.

That was a good sign too. A very good sign.

The last round of picking up the place we fed people was pushing up the cart up the hill so it could be hooked back up to the van. I was a little disappointed that I didn’t have time to go buy some veggies and use my $1 discount but I was ready to go back and do dishes, in a strange twist of events. Before we could start, the Hmong flower vendors that were in no hurry let us pick a bouquet of flowers I don’t know the name of. They were poofy and they were probably dahlias. They spelt glory every way you looked at them and they were mine. If you’re wondering if that was a good sign too, it was.

I liked that sign.

We walked up to the cart one last time, ready to heave/ho and I hear: “Hey you want one too?” I looked up because I probably was looking down at the time. I also looked up because when somebody says “hey”, it could mean anybody. Unless there’s a person named Hey. In that case I’d look up and back down a bit faster. But “hey” was me. Did I want one? Yes, Diane. Y.E.S. I want a dream-catcher! I want all the dream-catchers that you made at summer camp out of birch because you know why? I’ll tell you why. It matches my flowers and also because that…THAT was the best sign of them all.

Roasted squash summer pizza

New favourite pizza dough alert. If for any reason it doesn’t work for you, please let me know. I will be happy to go back to the drawing board for you. That’s what I’m here for after all. Happy chow-downing.

Ingredients

For the toppings

300 gms summer squash/zucchini (about 2 medium sized squash)
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp fresh oregano and thyme, chopped
1/2 tbsp lime juice
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated (use more or less if you please)
1/2 cup caramelised red onions (optional)
1/4 cup black olives, chopped

For the dough

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup atta (durum wheat flour), plus more for dusting and kneading
1 tsp active dry yeast
1 1/2 tsp raw cane sugar
1 cup warm water
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil

You can start the pizza party by turning your oven up to 400 degrees F, which is this house take 2 shouting matches at 2 different times of the day, leaving me with very little sleep and just a few hours to use the oven until the home space turns into our very own furnace. *Currently baking eggplant on the sofa*

Slice the zucchini and summer squash into 1/4 inch thick rounds and season with all the spices and herbs apart from the cheese and onions. Once the squash is coated well, place on a baking sheet lined with foil and roast for 20 minutes until the edges brown and the squash looks crinkly. Let it cool before peeling it off the foil.

While the squash is roasting, have yourself a dance party. Once you’re done, it’s time for pizza pizza dough. Fill a bowl with the warm water and add the sugar to it. Stir to dissolve and then put in the yeast. Don’t stir it this time. Let the yeast take it’s time to dissolve. Yeast is the boss of you. Breadmakers all over the world will agree. Cover the bowl and let it sit for 5-13 minutes. It should look a bit frothy before it gets mixed into the flour. While the yeast is sitting around being the boss, put the all-purpose flour plus the atta (durum wheat flour) in a large bowl. Using your plain ol’ fingers mix it with the salt and the olive oil. To this add the yeast and again, mix, mix, mix with thy fingers (it’s really more fun this way). It should all come together at this point and form into a nice soft, elastic, dough that can be easily shaped. If it doesn’t and it’s still too sticky, add more of the durum flour to it, a little by little till it’s easy to work with. Knead the dough in the bowl for 5 minutes….no less and no more. Then cover it with a tea towel and put plastic wrap over the bowl. Place in a warm spot in the kitchen to let the yeast work it’s magic. The warmer the spot, the better the rise. I usually stick the bowl in a corner in the kitchen cupboard. Leave it there for a minimum of 1 1/2 hours to 3-4 hours.

Once the dough has risen, pull out the bowl from the cupboard and punch it. Free all the air and split the dough in half. You can make 1 pizza from half of the dough and freeze or refrigerate the rest depending on how soon you will use it. Leave it in the fridge for no more than 3 days and freeze it if you plan on keeping it for longer. The ingredients I’ve stated above work well with half the dough.

Grease a baking sheet with olive oil and taking half the dough, spread it around on the sheet using your hands. It might resist a bit in the beginning by reclaiming it’s shape but it becomes more pizza-like eventually. Once you’ve shaped it, loosen it up once from the bottom of the sheet. This means you just lift it up and put it right back down. This will help it not stick to the pan after it’s cooked. Brush the top of the pizza with olive oil and the top it with the squash, olives, caramelised onions (if using) and parmesan cheese.

So pretty right?

Bake the pizza for 20-25 minutes until the edges of the bread brown lightly. Pull it out of the oven, let it cool just a tad, slice and serve.

Nectarine-blackberry galette

August 10, 2013 by Edlyn

It’s been two days since I’ve given myself permission to get out there and make some money for myself. On the second day I was late. That wasn’t very good at all but like every commuter I glance at and then proceed to ignore, I’m trying to understand this commuting thing. I’m not sure if my feet like me very much since I stand for five hours straight but I’m doing this anyway.

This being the food cart business called “I love my GFF”, where I do a little of everything they tell me to do. On Thursday it was mixing a lot of chicken and doing dishes. On Tuesday it was chopping carrots (thankfully, already grated carrots), doing dishes and something else I can’t remember. I knew it was going to be hard work and I had a good idea of this and that, which is why I did it anyway. Photography and then this. You might think I was trying to copy Jane and Gayle. I might be. It’s because I know trying new things for the first time leads to better things. I might not be able to measure all the good stuff monetarily but who cares about that stuff anyway? Do what you love and it will take you places. Little by little.

I got out of the car an hour ago after hiking for a bit today and I told Matt that I wasn’t sure why I was doing this. It didn’t seem creative enough (and we KNOW that’s what I’m all about) for me. I still don’t quite know but I told him it keeps me out of his hair for a while and that seems like a good gift to him.

Tomorrow I’ll be working 10 hours and four of which will be at the exact same farmer’s market in Capitol Hill that I’ve been shopping at since the start of summer. I’d like to think it’s some sort of great coincidence. I love that market and if I get the time to look around, I’ll get a $1 vendor discount! I’ve always wanted to work at a market! This is not quite it but it’s perfect. I’m a vegetable nerd all of a sudden. This side of me is very new and very strange at the same time. Like a superpower.

While I figure this whole work thing-blog work thing out, I’ve decided I need to pace myself with my food writing. It’s difficult as it is to commute to Seattle and then come home and scramble to cook something, with photographic proof. I can totally do that but who am I fooling? I’ll just want a beer. I’m going to write my best but at the most it will be once a week. I feel a lot more productive that way and it lets me actually think recipes through. Yesterday, that’s exactly what I did. I had 2 nectarines I bought last week and a street full of blackberry bushes with fruit bursting out like crazy. I was that girl with a bowl stretching for the berries on the higher branches that nobody of average height can reach. Those were the ripest. I also didn’t have the excuse of running out of blackberries because I ate them all. I can always get more. At least for a few more weeks. Then I made a galette.

Because after the day has ended and you’re done with the adult world for the time being, there’s really nothing quite like cooking for yourself (+1).

Ingredients

For the dough

175 gms (1 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour
100 gms butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
1 tbsp raw powdered sugar
1/2 tsp salt
50 ml (1/4 cup) ice water

For the filling

275 gms of fruit (I used 2 nectarines and blackberries)
1 tbsp raw granulated sugar
2 tbsp butter, chilled and cut into pieces
1 egg, for egg wash

For the whipped cream

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tsp honey
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Few sprigs of fresh lemon thyme

To start the dough, you need to make sure the butter is chilled and hard. If you’ve cut it up after the chill part, then chill it again. I hate being the boring one here but these things matter in the grand scheme of kitchenry. Also wipe your counters. No, don’t. Well, only if you must.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt to a point where you won’t be able to tell them apart. That usually happens in no time at all. Bring out the pieces of chilled butter and mix them into the flour until it turns into a coarse, crumbly meal. You’ll need to use your magican swaying arms to break down the butter (like you just don’t care). If there are still some pieces of butter that are not quite the right size, it’s okay! You are a great baker and you’re on your way to a gorgeous galette. Mix in the ice water, a tablespoon at a time and using just the tips of your fingers, mix the flour so it all comes together. Don’t mix the dough too much. It should come together as a not too dry-not too moist chunk of dough in about 3-3/1 tbsp of water. If it’s too wet, add more flour and it it’s too dry, add a little more water. Once it looks like a dough and says “Hi, I’m dough!”, split it into 2 halves, form them into discs and chill in plastic wrap for about an hour (or more if you need to rest the feets).

While the dough is chilling, heat the oven to 355 degrees F and place the baking rack in the middle of the over. Slice the nectarines in the middle and around the seed in the middle. If it’s ripe the fruit will split in two very easily giving you easy access to the seed. Remove the seed. Slice the nectarine. I state the obvious but trust me, it’s necessary. For my well-being. Leave the blackberries as they are. Unless they need to be rinsed. Cold water, minimal touching. Them blackberries are moody.

An hour later, pull one of the discs of dough and put them on the counter. Dab both sides of the disc with flour and roll it to about 1/2 inch in thickness. You can roll the dough between pieces of parchment paper. Sprinkle the granulated sugar leaving about 2 1/2 inches around the edges. Add the pieces of butter here too and then place the nectarine slices in a circle. Fold up the edges, making it like a container. Add the blackberries at this time. Brush the outside of the dough with egg wash. Put it in the freezer until the dough hardens one last time (for 3 minutes tops) before you put it in the oven. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the crush turns golden brown.

While the galette is baking, using a hand blender, beat some heavy whipping cream, sugar and vanilla extract until it stiffens. Put it in the refrigerator. When the beep of the time tells you it’s galette time, pull it out of the oven and let it cool for 10 minutes. Serve it up with a dollop of cream, topped with thyme sprigs.

It’s legit. Your summer just had many summer babies. You’re welcome.

YEAH YEAH YEAH.

August 5, 2013 by Edlyn

I’ve been trying to think of a perfect introduction for what I’m about to write. I thought about it all morning in between cleaning the bathroom (I’m so glad we just have one) and singing “This. Girl. is on FAI-YUHHH” (this girl is on fiii-err-errr-err). I head that song a lot of times last week and that’s it. It’s stuck in my brain. Anytime I feel like I need a nudge, I turn it back on. And it plays and I can do it all.

That’s the introduction then. Without me having to try too hard, I got it. Should I sing the song again?

The whole of last week I chose to volunteer my time as one of the documentation crew at the Rain City Rock Camp for Girls (RCRC). It’s a whole week’s worth of dance parties, intensive musical teaching and learning (considering their ages, of course), sisterhood and so many girls who rock that it makes your heart explode. At the beginning of the week, I knew I was not the best photographer to do all of this justice. I couldn’t help but think how much bigger this was that me. These girls were about to shed their inhibitions, break out of their shells and all those other metaphors that mean they were going to be awesome.

I know I’m not very technical when it comes to photography. I struggle a lot to get what I see through the lens on film. It’s very difficult for my mind to process things with numbers in them. I’ve asked for help, but whenever people start talking ISO, f-stop stuff my brain turns off. “Too many numbers,” it says, “I’m going to sleep.” Okay brain. Don’t let me stop you. I made (and still use) visual cues to understand the (somewhat) important things instead. It gets me by. I remember I had a photography class in my second year of college. It was one of the classes I was most looking forward to. I didn’t know why but it seemed easier than studying and barely passing economics, which they made us all take in year 1. BLEAHH, because remember the number thing I just spoke about? The photography teacher David DeSouza spent probably 1 class in the whole semester explaining ISO and appertureshutter (as he called it, to help us understand). I remember some of my friends complaining about that. Even though I sort of agreed with them, sitting right here right now, I’m entirely grateful. He introduced us to some of the greatest photographers, the most beautifully made photographs and even helped our class (along with two other colleges he taught at) to put together our first photography exhibition. He also appreciated my photo assignment (cat photos, of course) in front of my peers. I didn’t make it to that class, but I felt special all the same. He made me love photography.

Many years later, I still don’t completely fit in with the people that geek out on photography. Long hair, don’t care, I joined a photography club in Seattle and I go to the meetings with them anyway. I have no idea what they talk about most of the time but just hanging around their brains makes me feel like a creative genius. It also introduced my to my friend Lisa Y. Mendez, a supremely talented girrrrl artist/zine queen, who moved to San Diego last year. No longer in Seattle (boo!), she introduced me to RCRC. She sent me a “request” on behalf of the camp asking if I would volunteer as much time as I could for them. Er, YES. I said YES a million times in my mind even though I replied to her saying something like “I’m an okay photographer….are you crazy?”

I did it last week and even though I hid behind the camera most of the time, it was the most rewarding experience I’ve had in a while. I got to watch the girls turn into rockstars in five short days, watch (some of) their band coaches and counsellors go from exasperated to excited to proud. I also got to see transformations happen right before my eyes. I think I transformed too. It’s hard not to when people all around are telling you that you rock. That was the safest space I’ve ever been in since I moved here. My self-esteem went bungee jumping, sky diving and did headstands all around town just by watching it happen.

All those women and girls ROCK. I got to work with the best videographer/woman Mandy, the best photographers/ women Marj and Sieglinde. I got to see the most amazing girl guitarists, drummer, vocalists and percussionists in the world. I worked the life out of me to get visual representation of the magic that was happening that week. My photographs were awesome.

AGAIN.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZw2CB_Ir_w&w=560&h=315]

“The person I am in the company of my sisters has been entirely different from the person I am in the company of other people. Fearless, powerful, surprising, moved as I otherwise am only when I write.”

Franz Kafka, Diaries of Franz Kafka

Something something bright side.

June 24, 2013 by Edlyn

There’s a reason why I haven’t posted anything new (which in my case means food) since Thursday, is it? That’s okay. I’ve never understood the functioning of a blog and watching some of my favourites teaches me that I’m nothing if not myself. So if I haven’t mapped this thing out yet, that’s fine. I’m doing this as a treat to myself; to keep loving this creativity I’ve been bestowed and to always be amazed.

Did you know that digital photography is not my thing? It isn’t. I’m shocked I can even manage to shoot pictures of food but I do it anyway and feel like chump a lot of the times. You should know this because if ever you compliment the photographs and I forget to thank you it’s because the chumpiness is very overwhelming. If I don’t forget, it means I’ve momentarily forgotten what a chump I am. It all comes down to the truth. I’m a Nokia 3310 in a world of smartphones.

Speaking of digital photography, I tried this past Saturday.

Who knows what the future will bring.

(All photos taken in Fremont, Seattle. Oh and one in Wallingford.)

Dirty dishes can wait.

March 11, 2013 by Edlyn

These past three days were filled with time I just didn’t want to waste. After pleading for more Indian-friendly weather, the sun came out just in time for Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Well..not so much on Sunday but I’m never greedy about these things.

It’s funny because my mother keeps telling me how horrible the weather is in Goa. They had a pool day on Goan Sunday, which is American Saturday night, which is very far from pool day weather, which is fine because I can pretend when I’m eating fish and chips.

Which is what I did.

So I gladly forgot to bring to you my breakfast picture from Sunday, though I must add I was THIS close to making something out of boiled eggs. THIS close (can you see my thumb and index finger? Thought so).

Let me break it down for you because you know I do such a great job of it.

Friday: I ate too much.

Saturday: It started out with fog but the day just got so nice by the time it hit noon. We went for a nice long walk on an island. It was a ferry ride away and I want to live on Whidbey Island. No big deal. Can I borrow some money?

Sunday: Spent the afternoon discovering Chinatown, Seattle Underground and talking about something that depresses me as much as it is a cause for my elation — food. It’s about time we have some consensus on the fact that premium needs to become normal again and food needs to spoil faster, without genetically-modifying it please. I can’t imagine spending extra for a CSA basket just because it’s better for me. What about the people that don’t have that “luxury”? It’s not fair. Stories like this are reassuring. But Whole Foods isn’t mainstream enough. In my opinion, they’ve just found a great way to market the most obviously good-for-you products better and hence, mark up the prices for them. If they can wage a battle against Pepsico and Coca Cola and YIKES Monsanto – some of the giants that spend millions to hide the truth from us and buy “organic” titles – all power to them.

America, you need to learn. Because the big guys here become the big guys in other countries too and that’s not the direction the world needs to move in. Not with our food.

As for pictures, I have some but not of the digital variety.

I promise you more shenanigans soon. Eat well and live well. The world needs your spark.