Mind in the Butter

Tofino Time: 2012 Foragers and Fishermens’ Mashup!

August 20, 2013 by Eva Louise Leave a Comment

My gorgeous dad, mom, sister and brother!

It’s that time of year again…Tofino Time! The whole family made the great trek West and North to beautiful British Columbia for our week long family holiday filled with foraging and fishing adventures. My trip in particular took a whopping 16 hours…grrr…so admittedly it’s taken the past few days to get into vacation mode, but I’m in it! I’m in vacation mode….weeee!

For those of you who know my family, food and cooking are the main features of any FFV (Fowler Family Vacation). So to get my inspirational juices flowing for the week ahead, I looked back on last year’s postings. I had just started up the bloggy and I had so much fun documenting all of our delicious meals and the hilarious adventures that got the food to the table. Here are a few of our 2012 highlights; I can’t wait to share this week’s culinary delights!

Mom’s bangin’ Smoked Salmon and Clam Chowder from Clamming Leads to Clam Chowder

This video pretty much sums up the Fowler Family:

One of my all time favorites Chanterelle and Goat Cheese Tart from What’d you do with all those Chanterelles?

And finally, the kind of epic, kind of a fail “Shumai.” I’ve gotten a bit better, but here’s the original Crab and Shrimp Shumai:

Israel Homecoming

August 12, 2013 by Eva Louise 1 Comment

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I’m back from the motherland – the beautiful, complex country of Israel! I was there this past week for 10 days on a Taglit Birthright Trip getting my Jew on. I was carted around the Jersey-sized country, to Tel Aviv, to Jerusalem, to the Golan Heights and to the Negev Desert in a big ol’ tour bus with 39 other Jews. I don’t doubt we barely scratched the surface of Israeli exploration, but I really felt like I experienced a lot of the country…And most importantly, I can say I ate my weight in hummus and shwarma on this trip.

I had high expectations for the food there, and save for a few janky Kibbutz meals, I was seriously impressed. My three highlights were Shakshuka, Ahi Tuna Fish ‘n’ Chips, and of course, ze Shwarma. Seriously, I freaking love shwarma. While there is no way I’d ever attempt making it, I can’t wait to attempt the Shakshuka and Tuna Fish ‘n’ Chips!

Photo credit shout out to my amazing new friend Justin Drazin, author of the Pillow Monster Series. (He took the pretty pictures, I took the food pictures.)

Shakshuska

Eggs baked in a scrumptious tomato, onion, pepper, herb mixture served with side salads and crusty bread.

Kosher Ahi Tuna Fish ‘n’ Chips with Curry Mayo

Only the most brilliant riff on fish ‘n’ chips ever in the history of man.

Shwarma

Just…yea. Mmmm. Mmm. Mm!

Some other amazing images from our adventures:

Inside a water cistern at Masada

The Kotel at Dusk

Syrian farmland, view from Golan Heights

I want them all

Grapes almost ready for harvest

Shalom, Tel Aviv!

No Jew trip would be complete with a Jew nose pic

In case there was any doubt…I’m definitely a Jew!!

End of the Heat Wave!: Asparagus Ravioli with Seared Scallops

July 24, 2013 by myfriendsinfood 2 Comments

We’ve just survived a brutal, swassy heat wave here in New York and I swear, you couldn’t pay me to cook in my kitchen these days. Luckily, protein bars and happy hours have been sustaining me, but man, I’m really fiending some of my own food.

I started flicking through some of the dozens of unposted food photos I have on file and picked this homemade asparagus ravioli with lemon zest and mascarpone with seared scallops to share today. I made this earlier in spring time, at the beginning of asparagus season and cheated by using wonton papers which I’ve used for other recipes as well. (Link to that post here) I’d love to try this with ramps or garlic scapes (maybe too late in the season??), or some other funky farmers market vegetable. I’ll definitely be trying this dish again.

Asparagus Ravioli with Lemon Zest and Mascarpone

zest of 1lemon
juice of 1 lemon
1 bunch asparagus
1 small dish of mascarpone cheese (about
block of Pecorino or Parmesan
1 bunch chives, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic (optional), smashed or rough chopped
S/P to taste
wonton papers

Rinse and pat dry the bunch of asparagus and cut each stalk just below the crown. Set the crowns aside for garnish later*. Cut and discard the dried or discolored bottoms of the stalks. These are normally dry and tough and not tasty. Rough chop the remaining stalks and toss into a food processor.

To the food processor, also add: 2 cloves of rough chopped garlic, a handful of chopped chives (they are so mild I love using a lot), 1 teaspoon of lemon zest, 4 – 6 Ts of the mascarpone, 1/4 cup of pecorino, cracked pepper (hold on the salt until you taste the blended mixture). Pulse the mixture in the processor until mostly smooth and incorporated. Taste and adjust flavors accordingly. Salt, more garlic or more cheese might be necessary. The consistency should be a bit stiff and asparagus-y; you don’t want the creaminess of the cheese to drown out that flavor, or for the filling to be too soggy.

Once the filling is a good consistency, prepare your station and start assembling your raviolis. For this, you need:

a big plastic cutting board
a drying rack (wipe with oil or spray it with Pam to keep the raviolis from sticking)
small ramekin of water

Lay out the wonton papers onto the cutting board and place a small dollop of filling in the middle. Dip your finger in the ramekin of water and wet the edges of the paper. At this point you can either fold the wonton into a triangle, or place another wonton paper on top (recommended) to keep its square shape. Make sure the edges are sealed fully and place on the drying rack.

Once all the raviolis are assembled and drying, boil water a shallow pot. Add salt and one layer of raviolis. Cook 2-4 minutes until the wonton paper is tight around the filling. Continue to cook the rest of the raviolis (or freeze the remainder). Use a slotted spoon to place on a pretty platter or on individual plates.

*In a saute pan, heat a generous splash of olive oil and saute the reserved asparagus crowns with a few pinches of the chives for 2-3 minutes until al dente. Distribute evenly among the plated raviolis.

Garnish the asparagus ravioli with lemon juice, lemon zest, chives, and pecorino. The pasta water, olive oil and lemon juice will naturally create the sauce for the dish. I served mine with seared scallops, but chicken or salmon would be awesome as well!

Copy Machine Food Muses…and Salmon

July 12, 2013 by myfriendsinfood 4 Comments

I love my co-workers. No but actually… I’m obsessed with them. We have this unnaturally close bond because we are frequently required to travel internationally together, sometimes making work feel more like camp or high school (except awesomer because I’m not going through puberty and I’m now cool). We bond over champagne at 40,000 feet, over horrific food poisoning, severe colds and broken limbs, in strange and foreign countries. We bond over lost baggage, language barriers, Swiss fondue and too many bottles of wine. I really love this level of familiarity and comfort because it allows me to do things to my colleagues I’d never do anywhere else, you know, like break into their desk late at night on a regular basis to eat that salted chocolate they keep at the back of their bottom desk drawer, or ask to borrow their socks on my way to the gym.

Travel disasters and desk break-ins aside, I love my coworkers because of their support of my blog. Mind in the Butter has gained incredible traction in my office and some of my biggest fans and food muses are right here scanning documents at the copy machine. They “like“, comment, and drool over every blog post or food photo immediately once I click “Publish.” Conversely, they tap their watches, scowl and shun me when I’ve gone too long between postings. They are a huge motivating factor and source of inspiration for my food blogging and deserve to be celebrated. THANK YOU!

Yesterday in the spirit of home-cooking and coworker love, we hosted a “Coworker Potluck” to give us an excuse to swap recipes and enjoy each other’s company. With the help of one of my coworkers, I did Roasted Salmon with Lemon, Tarragon, Shallot Butter with Tomatoes Provençal and others brought incredible salads, sides, dips, and desserts. What a treat!

Roasted Salmon with Lemon, Tarragon, Shallot Butter

Filet of Salmon
1 lemon
2 sprigs tarragon (about 3 T), torn up
3 T chives, rough chopped
2-3 pads of butter
2 T olive oil
2 cloves garlic, rough chopped
1/2 medium shallot or one whole, small shallot diced
S and P to taste

Pre-heat oven to 350

In food processor mix tarragon, chives, butter, garlic, shallot, olive oil, S/P and the juice of ½ the lemon until smooth. No food processor? No problem. Just finely chop everything and blend with olive oil and softened butter.

Rinse and pat dry the salmon and place in a foil-lined baking dish. Spoon the luscious herby mixture generously over the salmon making sure to cover all the sides. Slice the remaining 1/2 lemon into 3-4 thin slices and place on top of salmon. If possible, leave in the refrigerator for at least an hour before baking.

Pull the corners of the foil up around the filet into a loose tent, careful not to smush the herb mixture. Bake at 350 for about 20-25 minutes, depending on the size. White specks should form around the salmon indicating it’s done. Use a fork and pull at the corner of filet to ensure it’s ready.

Tomatoes Provençal

Small, ripe tomatoes on the vine (campari and cherry tomatoes are ideal)
Olive oil
Herbs de Provence
Italian seasoning

On a plate, drizzle olive oil on whole tomatoes. Shake or pinch herbs and Italian seasoning on around the tomatoes to fully coat. Sprinkle on salt and pepper for good measure. To avoid cleaning another dish later, tuck the vined tomatoes into the corner of the same pan as the salmon (not inside the foil tent). Roast at 350 with the salmon. They should be soft and blistered when done, so they might need a few more minutes than the salmon depending on their size.

Heaven is a South African Kitchen

July 11, 2013 by Eva Louise 4 Comments

***This is the third and final post from my trip to South Africa. The previous posts are here and here***

Heaven on a plate

On our final morning at the whimsical Miner’s compound, something amazing happened – I met the Miner’s wife, Jackie, who had been in the city during our drunken escapades the day before. We bumped into her at the back door of her kitchen in our efforts to say goodbye to our host and friends. She was directing a platoon of housemaids, with a voice so sensational it was like the Cheshire Cat or an Afrikaans Miranda Priestly were yelling orders from behind a buzzing fan. She had fiery red hair in a coif that Marge Simpson’s sisters might request at the hair salon and gorgeous bright eyes that will keep her looking youthful even when she turns 100. Just amazing.

“Come, come, come. You must have something to eat!” She said in same breath as her introduction.

Instead of staging our departure, Stingray and I let Jackie take us hostage (rather willingly) onto the back porch to enjoy a decadent breakfast of fruit salad, fresh yogurt, charcuterie and her homemade preserves (umm…is this real?!). We ended up staying so late that it was already time to enjoy lunch which we did, at the very same table.

I was gorged, spoiled and feeling rather useless so Jackie was gracious enough to let me cook with her in her amazing kitchen. She and I whipped up a Tuscan-style tuna salad with cannellini beans, fried eggplant with cilantro, a simple salad with a vino cotto vinaigrette, and a caprese salad with olive oil so rich it looked like gasoline.

As I chopped, (she and I in matching aprons) she told me the story of her gorgeous Chinese linens, her fruit trees, herbs and spices from her travels to the Middle East, and the painting class she’ll take in France later in the Summer. So intimated by her amazingness, I interrupted her a few times to ask, “How do you want this chopped? What else should I add to this? Am I doing this right?” “Dahling, everything you’re doing is just perfect, simply perfect. Add whatever you’d like!” My only thought was: Eva, burn your passport so you can live with Jackie forever!…Do it, burn it now!

Once I finished shaking up my vinaigrette and the meal was almost ready, I started to chop a littler slower in attempts savor this moment with her. When I go to Heaven, I know that the cafeteria will look just like Jackie’s gorgeous kitchen.

Tuscan-style Tuna Salad

Ingredients

1 can of good albacore
1 can of canellini beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 shallot or small red onion, diced
1-2 garlic cloves, grated
juice of 1 lemon
1 cup chopped cilantro
Olive oil
S and P to taste

Toss all ingredients together, in a beautiful bowl, except for tuna. Add tuna and incorporate gently to try to keep it from breaking up too much. Taste, adjust flavors accordingly.

Fried Eggplant with Cilantro

1 large eggplant
1 cup chopped cilantro
1-2 garlic cloves
juice of 2 lemons
Pepper to taste
maldon salt

Chop eggplant into 2 inch “pegs” and fry in olive oil until crispy and tender. In the meantime, mix the lemon juice, grated garlic and pepper in a large bowl. Once the eggplant is done, put directly in bowl with lemon juice mixture. The olive oil absorbed in the eggplant will naturally balance out the acid. Sprinkle maldon salt or another large-grained salt right before serving.

Caprese salad (everybody knows this one, right?)

Tomatoes, mozzarella and basil with high quality olive oil (lemon juice or balsamic were not added to the version pictured)

Green Salad with Vino Cotto Vinaigrette

1/2 cup walnut oil
1 pinch sugar
1-2 T vino cotto (Italian sweet wine syrup)
1 heaping T dijon mustard
1/2 clove garlic, pressed or grated (optional)
S and P to taste

Shake all ingredients in a jar. Too sweet add more dijon, too thick add more oil. I served this with arugula and butter lettuce, some red onion left over from the other salads, a ripe avocado and some paprika for color.

Spiced, Wine-Poached Pears with Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream

In case I wasn’t already in food ecstasy at the end of our lunch, Jackie brought out some of her spiced, wine-poached pears and homemade vanilla ice cream and served it drizzled with grappa. It’s a miracle I didn’t implode into stardust after that.

Spiced, wine-poached pears with homemade ice cream

A diptych of her lemon tree…why not?

8 things to do before Mom stays in your sh*thole New York apartment

June 6, 2013 by Eva Louise 22 Comments

***I interrupt our regular posting schedule because Mommy is in town! Final South Africa chapter forthcoming***

Mom is coming into town this weekend to celebrate her birthday with me and Sissy. (Learn more about my amazing mother here) I can’t wait! Normally she stays at Sissy’s and yet despite droning on and on about how much of a nasty, vile, rat’s nest of an apartment I have, she’s decided she’d like to stay with me. Um, OK… I’m ready for the challenge. I’m going to blow her mind with just how luxurious my rat’s nest is. I’m going to pull out all the stops and blow Sissy’s washer/dryer-gorgeous-bathroom-faux-fireplace-special-order-linen-couch-two-bedroom-Upper-West-Side brownstone straight out of the water! Just kidding. Mostly.

And don’t get me wrong, my mom is not snooty, she’s just a normal, concerned mom, as in, nothing is ever good enough for her precious angel. But Moms of our generation forget we’ve moved on from the womb, have gotten jobs, new lives and “different” living situations than the familiar luxuries of suburbia. That aside, she’s a guest, the most important guest you’ll have in your home and she should be treated with the utmost thought and care. She’s Mom, she deserves this.

So here are the eight things I’ve decided will make my (and perhaps your) reception of Mommy Dearest go smoothly.

1) Get the apartment professionally cleaned. It doesn’t matter how clean you can get it with your platoon of Duane Reade cleaning supplies. She will walk in and either let out a really dramatic sneeze and say “Oh my…Evie, it’s awfully dusty in here…” Or later, you’ll see her standing precariously on the kitchen table trying to wash the ceiling with one of your gym t-shirts, then when she realizes you’re standing there, look at you sheepishly like “Oops…hi… I saw a cobweb up there….”

2) Bring in fresh flowers. You can’t change the fact that your floor is painted a crayola brown or that your bathroom looks like the set of one of the Saw movies. Fresh flowers are a great way to divert Mom’s attention from these horrifying details.

3) Get all the ingredients for her favorite cocktail.

Whether she’s a plane or bus ride away, even if she herself has lived in the Big Apple before, she’ll be all flustered and overwhelmed by the hustle and bustle when she arrives. It’s also likely that in addition to her huge suitcase (“What? I didn’t know what pack…OK, Eva?!”), she’s brought you a bag of homemade goodies (in my case it’s always salmon, fresh herbs, homemade preserves and a kitchen tool of sorts) that makes maneuvering through the city to your apartment more cumbersome. Diffuse this situation quickly by making her favorite drink* immediately upon getting her settled in the apartment.

*We all know Mom doesn’t actually drink, but loves the novelty of it, so just shake something up for her. In my mom’s case it’s a Tequila Sunrise that she’ll take one sip of and forget about.

4) Strategically place family photos throughout the apartment.

You are Mom’s greatest achievement in life (duh); you need to play strategically on this. If she starts to associate your garbage apartment with such amazing greatness, she’ll start enjoying your garbage apartment. In my case, I went for the gusto and placed photos by her side of the bed. Make sure the photo of you specifically is prominent and precious (remember, we’re creating seemingly impossible, positive associations here).

5) Leave her favorite candy on the coffee table.

To my earlier point, we’re trying to trick her into enjoying herself in a space she’s decided is wretched. Candy is tasty and fun. If she eats the fun candy in your apartment, science states that she is having fun in your apartment!

**********************************************************************

Now we’ve set the stage for Mom’s amazing visit and have taken steps to intercept her comfortably. Here a few other things you can do ensure that ~~you get the vacation home in the will~~ your apartment firmly becomes the favorite apartment throughout her stay:

6) Leave an eye mask and earplugs on the bedside table.

The Mom-approved bedside table: fresh flowers, carafe of water, eyemask, earplugs and lotion, family photos

The Mom-approved bedside table: fresh flowers, carafe of water, eye mask, earplugs, lotion, family photos

She’s not going to be used to sirens, garbage trucks and drunks screaming in the night. In my case, we come from a pretty rural area, so given my noise machine isn’t furnished with a “fishercat eating screaming bunny” setting, I’ll attempt to go for full silence.

7) Prepare some breakfast foods and a tea/coffee station.

This is important, especially if Mom arrives on a work day and needs to be left unattended. Make sure to have some fresh eggs, cream, fruit and yogurt placed prominently in the center of the fridge in case she’d like to take her breakfast at home. Because she won’t know where everything is, set a tray of morning tea on the counter so all she has to do is boil water. At this point, you can confidently assume that you are definitely the favorite child.

8) Make Mom a city survival kit.

It’s likely Mom has grand plans for her trip to New York so it’s important to get her prepared to maximize her time. I put together a little “city survival kit” to make sure she’s as comfortable as possible:

An umbrella: there’s nothing worse than being a tourist trapped in the rain, soaking wet and not quite sure where to go next. This is especially true in the summer months when the storms can hit unexpectedly.
A water bottle: Mom is always heckling you to drink more water, make sure she does the same. This also helps her avoid the bodega and street vendor racket of $5.00 water bottles.
A tour book and map: this will allow her to discover some things she didn’t plan on doing. Make sure to provide a map that includes subway and bus routes if the guide book doesn’t already have it.
A fare card: provide her with a pre-loaded fare card to really make her feel like a New Yorker. She’ll likely take cabs everywhere (yessssss!) but it gives her the option.
Trail mix: With all that museum-ing and shopping, ~~you are~~ Mom is going to need a little snacky. Avoid ~~your~~ the low-blood sugar induced tantrums and pack something delicious to keep the day going in a positive direction. For my mom, I made a mix from almonds, dried apricots and cranberries, chocolate covered pretzels.
A tote bag: Everybody’s all about going green these days, so make sure to give her a cute, sustainable tote to carry all this stuff.

Mom, happy birthday. I love you so much; I’m really looking forward to a great weekend with you!

Lunch and Precious Metals in the Riebeek Valley

June 4, 2013 by Eva Louise 2 Comments

***This is the second of three posts featuring my recent trip to South Africa. Read the first one, “Love and Penguins on the Cape of Goof Hope” here ***

When my co-worker invited me for an overnight in South African wine country, hosted by an eccentric and generous precious metals miner (we’ll call him “Miner”), I couldn’t tell whether it was going to be the start of a cheesy porn or a bad horror film. But when he mentioned 200 oysters were brought in for the occasion, I didn’t care how precarious the scenario sounded, I needed to GET THERE.

Stingray, my friends and I arrived in a fleet of rental cars at a quaint little compound in the Riebeek Valley north of Cape Town. As if it were the most natural of things, we were led up a set of garden stairs to a beautifully set table decorated with pitchers of lemon-mint water, trays of oysters, fresh salads, a wine station, decadent french-style cheeses, and homemade bread (which I later found out Miner made from wheat from his own farm!). So there we sat, with our new miner friend, passing bottles of wine, sucking down oysters, only taking breaks to play with his dogs and dip our feet in his stone-lined pool.

After gorging ourselves, Miner had us activate our rental car fleet once more to check out his farm several kilometers away. The air was perfect and cloudless. The sun had only just started to pack up for the day, kindly offering another hour of light before heading West. Eager to work off our lunch bellies, we walked like a lazy herd of buffalo along the farm’s single dirt road. We kicked rocks and snapped photos together in desperate attempts to capture the magic of the day, one I don’t ever want to forget.

So to our new, mysterious miner friend: thank you for reminding us that there is so much beauty our earth has to offer, and for showing us how quickly a stranger can become a friend.

Love and Penguins on the Cape of Good Hope

May 30, 2013 by Eva Louise 4 Comments

***This isn’t a food post, but the first of three posts from my recent trip to South Africa. I promise the other two will include food.***

Recently, Stingray and I met up in South Africa for a romantic trip before he tries his luck in the world of African entrepreneurship. I learned that there’s a lot of pressure on these types of trips to have the perfect time, be on your best behavior (as in, not throw a tantrum if you have to choose between seeing the African penguins or going to lunch ) and see absolutely everything so you can report back to your friends just how freaking fabulous your romantic getaway was. This trip represented even more pressure given when it ended, I got on a plane back to our apartment in Manhattan and he, on a plane to a new life in the bustling city of Addis Ababa. DSCN1240

So given all this, our trip definitely wasn’t something out of a Sandal’s Resort commercial (strep throat and food poisoning made sure of this) but after a week of zigzagging through South Africa, we made it to the Cape of Good Hope on a day when the sun couldn’t decide whether to stay or go, with a seascape of air and wind and waves so eerie, I almost expected a 15th century, India-bound ship to sail right by us. We took some photos and kissed at the top of a rock formation and with that, we headed back to Cape Town and the next day, we went our separate ways.

There’s something to be said about driving with the person you love, watching them in an entirely different light, under an unfamiliar constellation of stars, shuffling through maps you can’t read, thinking, “There’s no one I’d rather be with than you.”

Love you, Stingray. Thank you for a memorable adventure.

Those damn penguins that kept me from a delicious lunch….

Moped Dinner Party in Switzerland

May 17, 2013 by Eva Louise Leave a Comment

Sometimes when I’m alone, eating bread rolls with packets of mayo drinking mini-bar wine in my hotel bed watching Russian music videos, I think to myself “business trips kind of suck.” But then I remind myself that most nights my life is fabulous and that I rule. Evidence of this is the incredible dinner party I had with some girlfriends and their beaus recently while on a business trip to Geneva.

Normally working late into the night, I committed to leaving the office in time to hop on my friend, Cristina’s Moped and head to France to do some dinner party grocery shopping. Holding tightly to her waist (apparently NOT necessary which she made very clear to me), with the spring breeze blowing through my 2-piece suit, and our helmets bonking against one another with every windy turn, I knew this was exactly the 2-wheeled escape I needed.

Eva’s Spring salad: rocket, shaved zucchini, cucumbers, chives, mozzarella with a lemon vinaigrette

My European friends are by default better cooks than I (because they are Europeans) , so I gladly took a step back on this meal and just offered to make a simple salad (above) while the girls made seared duck breast with an apricot jam, mustard and soy sauce glaze, sauteed asparagus and roasted potatoes. Thank you, ladies for a truly decadent dinner escape!

Seared duck breast with roasted potatoes and asparagus

I was excited so I made them do a group "haut cinq" with me (fake french for high five)

I was so excited by the success of the meal that I made them do a group “haut cinq” with me (my fake french for “high five”)

Lemon-Tahini Dressed Kale with Pine Nuts and Cranberries

April 28, 2013 by Eva Louise 1 Comment

These days I’m addicted to kale and totally over my normal vinaigrette go-tos: homemade apple cider and balsamic vinaigrette, so I tried my hand at a lemon-tahini dressing. I always feed bad for that lonely can of tahini that sits in my fridge after I’ve gotten the urge to make humus–the only reason I can normally think to use sesame paste. With this new addition, that sad old can is put to good use with this kale salad tossed with toasted pine nuts and cranberries.

Lemon-Tahini Dressing

juice of 1 lemon
1 heaping tablespoon tahini
3 tablespoons of water
1 tablespoon olive oil
pinch of salt
pinch of paprika
crushed garlic clove