Culinary Experimentation
I haven't done a lot (read: any) real cooking since I was first diagnosed with MS. But I realized last night, while I was sitting here doing some reading, that I'm feeling much, much better. I have more energy these days and I don't constantly feel like a nap would be helpful. I've been keeping my eyes open for good recipes and lately I've been trying a few new ones here and there, as I've felt up to it and had the energy.
In February I stumbled across the book called 50 Great Pasta Sauces; most of the cream-based sauces use copious amounts of heavy cream (versus half and half or milk) which, no doubt, make them taste like heaven. But given my allergies to dairy I do try to go easy on the dairy-based stuff. I'd originally bought the book when I was still having trouble with tomatoes and was trying to find alternatives to both traditional tomato and cream sauces... well, this book contained a lot of recipes that use either tomatoes, cream or both. But one recipe was within my own guidelines and while it was very basic it was also quite tastey!
It's called "Browned Butter and Sage" sauce and because I don't care to be sued by the copyright infringement people I won't post the recipe here... but essentially, you take some butter and melt it in a pan. When it melts and gets all frothy, you drop in some fresh sage leaves and a bit of olive oil and then cook it on medium-low heat until the butter is browned. And then you pour it over your pasta and add some parmesan cheese! Voila!
I poured it over the Wild Chanterelle Mushroom Ravioli by Rising Moon Organics (not Vegan, though they do offer vegan raviolis which are quite good!) and it was so good. My only suggestion, if you try making this is to use more sage rather than less. I used a small portion because the leaves on my baby sage plant are still small, and that yummy sagey flavor just didn't come through as well as it could have. So... more sage!
But that's not all! Oh no, that's not all! More cooking adventures in the extended entry.
I've been doing some baking, too...
In this week's FoodDay (from our local paper, The Oregonian) there was a recipe for "no-knead" bread. I absolutely love fresh, crunchy "artisan" bread but I tend to shy away from baking bread because, well, I'm lazy. Instead, I go to New Seasons and pay $1.49 for an "organic French mini loaf." And, honestly, this isn't a bad deal - as far as homemade organic breads go - but when I read the article for the no-knead bread I thought it looked like fun.
According to the article, which notes that the original recipe was printed in The New York Times by Mark Bittman (author of How to Cook Everything), "the method promises, with little more than 10 minutes' active effort, a bakery-quality artisan-style loaf, with a crackly crust and soft, chewy interior shot through with jagged holes. No bread hooks, no kneading until your wrists ache. Just mix, wait, bake and enjoy."
A mere ten minutes of hands-on time and you get yummy bread? Sign me up! And, by and large, this was my experience with it. I mixed everything up yesterday during my lunch hour (yet another benefit to working from home! Woo!) and then covered the bowl with saran wrap. When I got up this morning, I turned it out of the bowl and let it rest a bit (per the instructions), and then let it rest between two towels for a couple hours (while I tried - unsuccessfully, thank you, Rennie! - to get a few more hours of sleep.) Then I popped it in the oven and baked for the stated time.
Because this was my first attempt, I followed the recipe to a "tee." The only place I fudged a little was on the pot I used: I didn't have a casserole with a lid, just a round 2.5 quart CorningWare French White casserole dish - the lid has apparently gone missing. So I wrapped foil over it for the first 30 minutes and that seemed to work just fine.
And the results? Well, they were pretty good!! The crust was hard and flakey and the inside was light and fluffy and flavorful. The only thing I'd change if I made it again is to reduce the amount of salt. I used kosher salt and 2.5 teaspoons is a LOT of salt in this recipe. Still, for the amount of time and energy I put in, the results are excellent! The easiest loaf of bread I've ever made! And quite good, too.
The recipe is online here, for anyone interested in trying it themselves. I may throw some diced fresh herbs from my garden in my next loaf... what fun! Also, may need to begin scouring second-hand stores to see if I can find a good Le Creuset Dutch oven, and perhaps a lid for my CorningWare!
Comments
Ahh, now I'm hungry! :-)
The best dutch oven is a cast iron one though! (at least, that's what I used in the scouts :-)
Posted by: Ocean Breeze![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.rathnait.net/blog/nav-commenters.gif)
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March 17, 2007 02:34 PM
Well, well, Miss Julia Childs!!! Bon Apetite'...
Hey, if you're looking for some great recipes on line, here's a wonderful blog site...she (Marie) occasionally stops by my blog and I drop in on hers...but I'm usually hungry after I leave hers, whereas I'm pretty certain she is nauseated when leaving mine! LOL http://journals.aol.co.uk/mariealicejoan/MariesMuses/
Linda D. in Seattle
Posted by: Linda D. | March 17, 2007 10:47 PM
OMG, Linda, you're cracking me up!! :-)
I'll head over to her site, though, and poke around. I'm always up for a good cooking site!!
Posted by: Zee![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.rathnait.net/blog/nav-commenters.gif)
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March 17, 2007 11:17 PM
my friend jean RAVES about that no knead bread! i'm a huge bread fan myself but even the no knead recipe is a bit much for me to fathom cooking. but good for you for taking on some cooking adventures!
Posted by: jen | March 18, 2007 11:04 AM
Thanks for the tip about foil, I was worried about how I was going to try that as I have no dutch ovens (which always remind me of making pineapple upside down cake while camping with the boy scouts, maybe that's the reason I refuse to buy one!)
Posted by: Ra | March 19, 2007 02:26 AM
I was just reading your entry about Avonex and Tysabri. You and I were diagnosed about the same time. I started with Rebif and moved to Avonex. Avonex makes me feel worse than MS and 30% is not a good number in my mind.
I am considering Tysabri. I too have been concerned with the PML but the more I read and research, the less worried I am. It is such a personal choice. There are a few good websites out there if considering Tysabri: http://lauren-livingwithms-aolcomlglbgl2003.blogspot.com/ is a great blog and has TONS of links along with www.MSPatientsForChoice . I will be curious to see if Avonex had any impact on my MRI as I haven't noticed any other changes. Good luck!
Posted by: Courtney | March 19, 2007 05:20 PM