A little bit of this, a little bit of that...

We passed a nice weekend on the Costa Brava up in Girona, Catalonia. A little escape from the city and the mayhem we experienced this week with the Spanish bureaucracy. All things considered, it's still the good life.

Now when I think of the beach, I still have fleeting memories of lime flavors, black beans and rice, flour tortillas til you cry, salsa that is actually picante, and fried plantains. I don't really know why I think of those delicious things, for I've never been to a Latin American beach, but it is something I am swept away to. Here in Spain, it is all about the flavors of the Mediterranean: olive oil, sea salt, tomatoes so sweet you can eat them like apples, fresh and crispy vegetables, fresh whitefish and mountains of clams, mussels, razor clams, escargot, and various other shelled fish that I cannot translate. I have a little bit of both worlds to share with you today.

My recipe for Garlic Rice and Fried Plantains was in anticipation of this beach trip, and then a Mediterranean Couscous Salad was the welcome home meal upon our return. Both are as simple as can be, and could be used as a side dish for stewed pork (the plantain rice) or some baked Mahi with lemon (the Mediterranean salad). We had them as light lunches with this famously delicious European bread I finally bought at this bakery I have been salivating over for weeks. If you ever find a bakery that actually bakes their bread with all the healthy goodness of whole grains and has pumpkin seeds on the bottom (!!!!!!yesyesyesyesyes!!!!!!!) then go for it and live the good life!

On to the recipes!

Garlic Rice and Fried Plantains

5-6 Cloves of garlic

1/2 Medium onion

1 cup Long-grain rice

2 cups Chicken broth or water

Salt

2 T Olive oil

Let's prep first--it will just take a minute. In order to remove the garlic skins easily, smash them when the side of your knife--they'll slip right out of their skins and you can get on to chopping them. Alternatively, you can also throw them in whole-crushed, it just depends on what kind of texture you want. I personally like the surprise of a decent-sized clove of garlic in my mouth, but it might not be for everyone. If you want everything to look uniform, slice the garlic into slivers and you're all set. Chop the onion into a fine chop. Measure out the cup of rice and rinse in a mesh strainer until the water runs clear. You're ready to go!

Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat until it starts to shimmer. Pop the onion in there and listen to the beautiful music as the onions skip around doing their flavor dance. When they are fragrant and have gone transluscent, add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Next, add the uncooked and rinsed rice and toast it up with the onions and garlic. Keep stirring to prevent burning. Also cook until fragrant and a few rice grains are changing color to a light beige.

Add water or chicken broth and bring to a boil. Continue to cook as you would with normal rice! Part I, finished.

Now to make the plantains. I like to cut mine into chips. The skins of the plantains are different than bananas, so you can't just peel it off like you do for breakfast. What I do is score the skin on four sides and I peel it off in sections. Then I cut the plantain in half to have more manageable pieces. Set the flat side of the plantain on your chopping board, so that it is standing vertically. Take a knife and cut off slices from top to bottom. If you find it easier to do this horizontally, be my guest--whatever makes you feel good (or safer).

Now, normally I would cook these babies up in peanut oil because it brings out a nice flavor from the sweetie plantain, however I only had olive oil and that works just fine. Heat the oil to frying level and slide those plantain chips in the oil and cook until they turn yellow and eventually golden. They are very fun to watch cook. They start off as a sort of orange dreamsicle color and then they fry to bright yellow and then they start to brown. If you aren't careful they will brown to black, which you don't want, but it isn't the end of the world, just keep at it. Fry them up and sprinkle a seasoning mix over them, or simply salt them. I mixed chimayo chili powder, pimentón smoked paprika, and salt.

I topped the Garlic Rice with the Fried Plantains and it was a great combination. It is a good quick meal and is full of flavor.

Mediterranean Couscous Salad

Ripe tomatoes

Onions

Garlic

Couscous

Lettuce (butter lettuce would be better than the romaine that I used)

Olive oil

White wine vinegar

Salt

Pepper

Oregano

This recipe requires a little bit of assembly, but it is a salad, so it will all inevitably end up in the same bowl. Start by caramelizing the onion and garlic in a bit of olive oil, when they start browning you can squirt some vinegar in and when that has reduced, throw a little water in there to deglaze the pan. The water will also help make a more uniform caramelization, so if some onions are burning then the water will take care of that problem. Set aside.

Cook down the couscous as per the instructions and turn off the heat when they're ready. Stir in some chopped tomatoes, but don't turn on the heat again, I like that they remain raw. Season with oregano, salt, and black pepper, and now your couscous is all set.

Wash and chop your lettuce and make a bed of lettuce for each salad bowl. Drizzle some olive oil, vinegar, and a little salt on the lettuce and mix with your hands (don't worry your hands are washable, and once you mix a salad and its dressing with your hands, you'll never do it any other way again) Top the lettuce with the couscous and tomato, and on top of everything the caramelized onions. You can also feel free to add toasted almonds or pine nuts or queso fresco (which we added after I took this picture). Nom Nom!

Eat up and feel good!!

I'm listening to all the goodness of Forecastle 2012, and I'm missing Louisville during the summer! Listening to WFPK Radio Louisville with Kyle Meredith.

Happy cumpleaños! TORTILLA DE PATATA Celebration!

Today is the Handsome Spaniard's birthday and we celebrated it with a very early breakfast and a big lunch just now. I love birthdays, I think they are so much fun, and for a single day out of the year, someone can feel really loved/appreciated/special/insert necessary adjective. So, I decorated the house, wrapped some presents, and went to town on some of his Spanish favorites. In light of that, perhaps the only Louisville reference will be to De La Torres, the Spanish restaurant on Bardstown Rd. and one of the only Spanish restaurants in the region. They have great tapas and actual sangria. 

However, I promise you will learn a traditional recipe that you can keep in your culinary repertoire for whenever! I made what they call here a "Tortilla de Patata". Anyone who has been in Spain for more than 24 hours knows what a Tortilla de Patata is. It is a staple of the diet here, and consists of onions, potatoes, eggs, olive oil, and salt. We're going for simplicity here people. It isn't anything like the tortilla us Americans are used to (the Latin American export), but is more like a fat omelet that you flip 180º! That's a spectacle, so get ready for some acrobatics.

Later we will cover the simple dessert that I came up with out of the fruit bowl and cupboard. Chocolate covered pears. They really are amazingly delicious and they are fun to eat! Let's get going...

Tortilla de Patata (Spanish potato omelet)

6-8 small potatoes

4-5 eggs depending on the size

1/4-1/2 onion, also depending on the size

a ton of olive oil

salt

To start the tortilla de patata, you must do some prep work. One of my favorite scenes in a typical Spanish home is a table full of people peeling potatoes and slicing them into uniform, relatively-thin disks. So, make your home a little Spanish for the afternoon or evening and you won't be sorry. 

First you need to peel all of those potatoes. If you're handy with the knife you can slice those babies up while the onion is transferring its amazing flavor to the oil--if not, then you should prep the potatoes completely (directions following). While you're heating about 2-inches of oil over med-high heat, mince that onion...you don't want a ton of onion, but you want enough to distribute well in the oil. The olive oil will take on the sweetness of the onion, and that's what we need to get that traditional flavor for the tortilla. The onions should not be browning, but waltzing around in the glorious oil, so watch the heat!

Now for the potatoes. Cut them in about 1/8-inch slices if you can manage it (between 1/8 and 1/4 inch is acceptable). Depending on whom you ask, you can cut them super thin or you can be a bit lax--everyone has their own way to prepare a tortilla de patata....and they'll let you know, trust me. When the oil has been hanging out with the onion enough to merge flavors, add the potatoes and slow-poach them in the oil. You DO NOT want the potatoes to get brown either, so let these percolate over medium heat...stir and keep and eye on them, okay? This will take the longest out of all the steps, maybe 20 minutes, maybe more--just until they are soft.

Okay, it's time to get a little tricky. You have to muster up some courage for this part (but not nearly as much for the last part). As my mom told me when I first started cooking, don't be afraid of the hot oil or else you won't be frying anything...I don't know if it is physically safe advice, but confidence is your best friend in the kitchen--and if you end up burning yourself, that's why you have an aloe vera plant at hand...right? Take the pan off the stove and strain the potato and onions from the olive oil (we save this oil for frying potatoes or making more tortillas later on...you can use this oil a couple more times because it wasn't violently fried and messy).

As the potatoes are straining precariously over a container in the sink (that might just be my contraptions...call me Mcgyver), you can beat the hell out of those eggs. I'm serious. Get a whisk, and go crazy on those eggs until they are homogenous and a few bubbles veil the top. Add a little salt to the egg mixture. Then, take the potato mixture and add it to the eggs. You can then mix this up into the happiness that is your tortilla batter. Return the pan to the stove on medium heat with enough olive oil to keep the batter from sticking (usually the oil that you didn't pour off with the potatoes is enough).

Stay brave my friends, this is the part where things get a little precarious--but it is fun after your first time! It really helps to have about 7-8 Spanish friends cheering you on...but friends of whatever nationality will do. Hah! Take a plate, or if you happen to have a tortilla de patata flipper (yes, they are on the market), or other rimless flat-bottomed lid that will work. Make sure that the egg mixture isn't sticking (spatula or pan-shimmying works) and then set your lid on top of the pan. To minimize spillage, make sure the plate is larger than the pan and doesn't just fit inside--don't be a hero. Okay, now that you have the top securely in place, hold it tightly on top with your left hand, right hand on the handle (reverse obviously if you're stronger on the left side), envision its successful 180º flip, and then MAKE IT HAPPEN! Flip the omelet onto the plate in your right hand-holding it waiter-style (don't let it fall on the floor) and shimmy it back into the pan so the other side can cook. Physics has a phenomenon called centripetal force--if the movement you make is complete, the tortilla flip will be a success; if you hesitate and get scared, you will be covered in a warm egg, potato, and onion mixture. I guess there could be worse things...

I think the fact that you invested all that time in beating the eggs and peeling and cutting all those potatoes is enough to make your body and mind work together to make this a smooth transition. If you're weak in the upper body dept, get someone stronger to help you out--make them feel like they're useful since you're dominating the kitchen. If you have some left over egg and potatoes that didn't make it into the pan on the smooth slide that was your first attempt (fingers-crossed), you can just spread it on top and then you do the flip-trick once again. Don't worry, you'll be a pro in no time. If it failed and you made an epic mess, cut up some bread and eat it off of the counter, just make sure your kitchen is clean. No pasa nada. No worries!

Now you can cut it in triangles, pizza-style, or in cubes and eat them with toothpicks...great party appetizer. Also good for dinner, lunch, cold for breakfast, etc. The tortilla de patata can sit out on the counter if you have leftovers and it will be delicious the next day (I have never had one last that long, but cold tortilla is great). Now enjoy that rich egg with the silky potatoes and sweet olive oil flavor. Bienvenidos a España//Welcome to Spain.

Finally a little quickie for dessert. You have to eat your fruit now...why not smothered in chocolate?

Chocolate Covered Pears
2 pears, washed, skin-on
1 Chocolate bar, 70% dark chocolate is what I had

Take a teaspoon and scoop out the core from the bottom. Then you can cut the bottom a little so that the pear stands flat on its own.

Heat the chocolate over super low heat if you don't have a double boiler, like me. If you do, melt the chocolate over a double boiler (bain marie//baño maría). If you have enough chocolate, you can just dip the pears inside the chocolate. If you aren't so wasteful and just used what you needed, then you can teaspoon it on, and I think that is a nicer presentation--you can make layers and pretty ripples, etc. I used a coffee spoon, so it was the same contour as the pear, which was cool. Whatever leftover chocolate you have, that you aren't licking out of the bowl, you can use as an edible decoration! Let it set in the fridge for about 10-15 minutes. Eat with a spoon. It is so much fun!

Now I'm off to go plan some more events for the Handsome Spaniard's birthday!

¡Que aproveches amigo!

Listening to Kyle Meredith on WFPK Radio Louisville.

Coq au Vin: Just Like the Frenchies! Promise...

I couldn't bring myself to post on the 4th of July because I wasn't grilling up brats and homemade hamburgers while endangering my life with fireworks, instead I was trying my hand at an old French favorite: Coq au vin. We had a couple of half or quarter-full wine bottles left over from when our visitors stayed with us (we have had 7 people visit so far this summer!). So, I decided it was high time to get those into a sauce reduction, a syrup for chocolate cake, or something more robust like a Coq au vin. I'm happy I made that choice (mostly due to the fact that I don't have an oven to whip up a chocolate cake with wine sauce), because it turned out phenomenal, and it is a great meal for a large lunch. Here in Spain the largest meal of the day is lunch at about 2-2.30PM, and dinner isn't until 10.30 or 11PM; knowing that, we can't really welcome a couple of delicious drunken chicken breasts into our stomachs before sleeping.

We buy our wine from a local bodega, which serves up its wine, mixed or unmixed straight from the barrel into whatever container you bring. It's pretty nifty, and really thrifty at about a euro for 1.5 liters...yes, cheaper than water. The people are really nice too, which reminds me of home. The place my roommate and I used to go to is called Old Town Wine and Spirits on Bardstown Road. They are great people, with a solid knowledge of their products and good taste--I know this because I went in on more than one occasion for recommendations on food and wine-pairings. If you get the chance, stop on in!

For this recipe, I would normally recommend a pinot noir or your favorite full-bodied wine, which still has some sweetness in it. We used a 2007 Rioja and some sweet wine we had left over from the bodega, so it all worked out. Yeah, a few of you probably let out a gasp just then, but mixing wine for drinking or cooking is nothing new, especially if it's not with bottles of $40 wine...take a look at the next bottle you drink, I bet you it is a combination of cabernet, pinot, syrah, etc, etc. Some of the best wines I've had aren't purely from a single grape (although those are to be celebrated as well), rather they have complexity through mixing. I respect both approaches to wine-making--it's all good!

Okay, so why Coq au vin and why now? I would say that this is a great dish to prepare in the autumn and winter because it is so hearty, but we needed a dose of protein and as I mentioned before, we had a surplus of wine. I did some studying on epicurious, one of my food research sites, but I rarely follow the recipe exactly, so here are some changes I made from the Quick Coq au Vin recipe on epicurious.com. In place of onion I used leeks and celery, which added a delightfully soft sweetness.The mushrooms I used were called "Setas de flor" or flower mushrooms. I'm not entirely sure which kind of mushroom they were, but pick up a mushroom that has some flavor and texture, not those bland white caps that they put on Papa John's pizzas. I also had tons of carrots and I picked up some parsnips and a daikon radish, all of which I pureed into a happy, creamy side. Isn't using the flavors you have lying around in a new made-up recipe just so much fun? Now, let's get started!

Relatively Quick Coq au Vin with Creamy Pureed Root Vegetables

Coq au Vin
4 Strips of your favorite deliciously smoked bacon, chopped
4 Chicken breast fillets, cleaned and trimmed
1 Leek (green and white parts), minced
4 Cloves garlic, finely sliced*
1 Celery stalk, finely chopped
8oz. Flavorful Mushrooms, rinsed and rough chopped if necessary
3 T Fresh parsley, chopped
1.5 cups Red wine
1.25 cups Water (divided)
4 t flour
Sea salt
Black pepper
Pinch of thyme
 *I slice my garlic as recommended by Tony Bourdain. I think it adds nice aesthetic and the flavor is really conserved compared to mincing. Smashing is the best though if you can manage it...I'll take the whole garlic chunks if you don't want them!

Creamy Pureed Root Vegetables
2 T butter
2 Parsnips
5 Carrots
1 Daikon radish
Parsley
Sea Salt

To begin, prep everything on the list because it will just make your life easier. Because this recipe has multiple steps, it's nice to have your "mise en place" -work station- all set out and then you can just pick and choose what you need for each step. I arrange my meat and my vegetables separately in order to avoid cross-contamination ( I know, sounds serious doesn't it?), and if I'm using a bounty of herbs and spices, I'll set those up separate, around my vegetable prep or close to the stove. That isn't the case in this recipe!

First, you chop up the bacon and set aside. Then you need to season the chicken: salt, pepper, and parsley the fillets on both sides. When you've done this, start frying up that bacon until its crispy. Oh, how I love anything with meat and vegetables cooked in bacon fat...the French brought that beautiful technique to Louisville, and now we're eating bacon and pork right and left. Just look how beautiful it is! Wait until you smell it...
Remove the crispy, but not yet burnt bacon from the pan and set aside. Add the seasoned chicken fillets to the bacon drippings on medium heat and watch magic happen. I cooked them for about 4 minutes each side to brown them. If you have larger chicken breasts, just worry about browning them for now, 8-10 minutes should do them, and later we'll be simmering them in the gorgeous wine sauce. Remove the browned chicken and reserve, covered, or if you're lucky, throw them covered in a low-heat oven to keep them warm. I'm not convinced this part is necessary, I just reserved them on a plate with an inverted bowl on top and they came out juicy as ever.

Chicken fillets browning in bacon drippings

Do not drain those juices from the pan!!! Now you are going to sauté the celery and leeks in the pan (can you see why it is useful to have everything prepped?) until they are soft and fragrant. Then, add in the mushrooms and cook until they start browning. Add those garlic cloves at then end and toss around quickly, just like I taught you before...they are delicate and their best flavor comes when sauteed last.

 The exciting part comes next...add about a tablespoon of parsley (you should still have some left over at this point), the reserved crispy bacon, all of the wine, and about a cup of water. You'll hear that wonderful schwoo sound from the wine deglazing the bottom of the pan. Take this opportunity to stir around on the bottom and make sure that nothing is sticking, this also gets the pieces that might be a little stuck, but are carrying a deep caramelized flavor into your sauce. Simmer this concoction for 10-15 minutes. During this frame of time you can make up your sauce thickener: 4 teaspoons of flour with 1/4 cup water, stirred up until the lumps are worked out and seasoned with a tiny bit of salt and thyme.

When the wine has reduced down, you should add the flour mixture and in about 3-4 minutes you'll see your sauce thicken. At this point, you can uncover the chicken breasts and nestle them into the sauce to simmer for another 20-30 minutes, covered and on low. I turned the breasts over about 10 minutes in, so the other side could soak up some sauce too.

Right when you put that chicken in to simmer, start up on your side dish!
Creamy pureed root vegetables are very simple to make. Clean, peel, and rough chop those root vegetables. I really really love parsnips, so I threw a couple in there with the carrots and I wanted to see if a daikon radish would work too, even though it probably doesn't need to be cooked. It really did add a cool flavor and helped make the texture more smooth and uniform. I bet a sweet potato would be killer in this!
Anyways, all you have to do is pop those vegetables into boiling, salted water until they are soft. Strain them from their water, add 2 tablespoons of butter, salt, and some of that leftover fresh parsley. Take out that immersion blender, or food processor, or the back of a fork, and puree that beautiful mixture until it is as gold as the Kentucky state flower, the Goldenrod. Serve it in a side bowl.

By the time all that is done, your chicken should be ready to come out of its sweet simmer and onto your plate. Ladle a small amount of sauce into the plate or shallow bowl that you'll serve it in, then put a couple fillets on top and ladle more sauce on top. Garnish with parsley and fresh cracked pepper. A nice, crackly, mouth-watering baguette would go nicely with this meal. We followed it up with a bowl of fresh cherries...that's what life is after all!

Bon appetít!

Listening to Marion Dries on WFPK Radio Louisville

P'cahns (Pecans) and the Season of Stone Fruits

It is time for stone fruits, even on this side of the pond. I was telling the handsome Spaniard today about how we would travel down to Georgia to load up on the peaches during the season, and we could pick our own or drive by on one of the many long stretches of highway sprinkled with individual peach peddlers. Now that is some serious fruit. The peaches we picked were as big as my fist, fuzzy wuzzy, bursting with that golden juice and succulent flesh, and their skin was patterned with the traditional southern sunset. I mean, with memories like those, how can I even try to avoid the mountains of delicious peaches, nectarines, apricots, and plums that are piling high in the fresh markets down the street? It's simple, I can't!.

I also have a coveted stash of pecans, courtesy of a birthday care package from a dear friend of mine. I couldn't wait on them any longer, so today I whipped up some candied and spiced pecans to put on this incredible salad I'm about to tell you about. To me, pecans are one of the main ingredients of fine southern cuisine, and are native to North America. I cannot think of Derby Pie, Thanksgiving stuffing, sweet potato souffle, or spiced nuts without pecans at center stage. Needless to say, pecans are one of my comfort foods, and at 30 euros a kilo ($40/ 2.2 lbs) they are a little beyond reach here in Spain, even though I heard they are growing them now in Málaga. So, busting them out, spicing them up, and eating them as simply as I could in a salad was my best effort to have the pecan sing it's beautiful melody to us.

All this talk of peaches and pecans brings me to today's summer super salad! I think that spiced pecans with their punch of flavor mixed with the sweetness and depth of a grilled peach is the perfect combination for a salad. I simply combined these ingredients with fresh spinach and a beautiful Spanish extra-virgin olive oil. So easy and so incredibly satisfying.

Grilled Peach and Spinach Salad with Superbly Spiced Pecans

Some healthy handfuls of fresh spinach, washed and torn into salad-size pieces
2 Just ripe peaches, cut away from the pit into slices
Extra-virgin olive oil
Sea salt

Pecans
1 Tbsp. Butter
1 tsp. Sugar
1 tsp. Chimayo chili powder (or other fragrant chili powder)
Pinch of Salt

It's pretty easy to make up the superbly spiced pecans. Place a small skillet on medium high heat and melt down the butter and sugar. When it gets nice and foamy (but not brown!), add in the chili powder and stir it all together, you'll immediately start smelling the chili--when that happens, add the pecans. Stir the pecans, making sure that they are all coated in the spicy syrup. Continue toasting the pecans in the syrup over medium heat until they are toasted through, but do not stop stirring (7-10 minutes). The more you let them sit on the pan, the more likely they are to burn, and that would be a tragedy. Sprinkle that pinch of salt over the pecans and stir them well. Turn off the heat and spread out the nuts evenly on a plate to cool down (meanwhile you can make up the peaches). The syrup will make the nuts candied, so separating them makes sure that you don't end up with one disc of pecan bark, rather separate candied pieces of joy.

For the peaches, make sure they are washed and clean because we'll be eating them skin-on. Cut slices of the peach away from the pit and put them directly on the grill. I use a stovetop grill on high heat. Oh, the caramelization! It is gorgeous. They will stick a bit due to the precious golden sugar, so if you don't have a non-stick, remember to prepare your cooking surface with a wipe of olive oil. Grill for a few minutes each side, depending on how grillified you want them, I doubt you could overdo it. When they are finished, let them rest for a few minutes on a seperate plate.

At this point, you can rinse and prepare the bed of spinach, which will be the base of the salad. Then you distribute your peaches evenly among however many plates you are serving. The color contrast between the vibrant green of the spinach and the golden peaches dripping in their grilled syrup, that alone is a reason to get excited about lunch. Then you add those spicy, sweet, crunchy pecans and you have a meal that will make anybody's day a happy day!

Finish off that phenomenal presenation with a drizzle of Spanish gold (olive oil), and a wisp of finishing salt. Now you can rest assured that you will be eating a delicious meal abundant with the fruits of the season!

I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Listening to Kyle Meredith on WFPK Radio Louisville

The New Apartment and Memories of "Tres-T"

As of about three weeks ago, this new apartment in Barcelona became my home. Of course, the first week we had to make the obligatory trip to IKEA, which went as follows: write a list, don't forget the list at home, take out the list when you arrive at IKEA as a sincere gesture to follow it, proceed to ignore the list and buy only things that you previously didn't think you needed.

We ended up with a glass pitcher that just fits in the baby-fridge, and only at a certain angle; an awesome stovetop grill...my favorite under 10 euro purchase; a knife that actually cuts everything well, including fingers; various tupperware containers, which the Spanish call "Tuppers" and only with the most traditional pronunciation; and finally a fantastic cheese grater that collects the cheese in a resealable container...the convienience is beyond what I thought of as IKEA innovation.

Living without an oven really showed me how limited I was in cooking techniques outside of my three pillars: basic southern-fried, sautéed, and roasted in the oven. Of course I know how to steam, and boiling is fine for potatoes and rice, but really, besides making delicious sauces and frying, what will happen to my sanity without the miracle that is the oven? I honestly thought it was the most basic of necessities, like a toaster, or refrigerator. However, as with many many other things that you must adjust to while living abroad (primarily bureaucratic nusances), the absence of an oven and a full-sized anything have been made my challenge.

It just so turns out that I had a pretty decent preparation for this year (or more) to come, and that was called Tres-T. The Three Ts stood for Throw Together Thursdays, an event that happened every week, when we would gather the rest of the food we had stored in the fridge or pantry and try to make something delicious out of it. Because of a decent success rate, a series of wonderful evenings with my dear friend, Elizabeth, was born. We combed our cabinets for edible goods, making sure that we were well fed before our weekends out of town, exploring some other part of Spain. I love cooking without a plan, and I see it as an adventure to try to transform whatever I have into a sauce, a main course, a salad, a soup, a dessert, you get the gist.

In Memoriam of Tres-T, an event that unfortunately had to come to an end due to the end of our academic year teaching, and the subsequent moving to other sides of the world (the Mediterranean Coast and the US East Coast respectively), I threw together some rather tasty grillables right in my stovetop grill pan. I'll throw in some pictures and my first attempt at writing a recipe.

Disclaimer: as a natural cook and not baker, my attention to measuring is very small, if existent. I will do my best though to make some instructions that are meant to be read as if I was there in the kitchen with you. First the ingredients, then follows the prose.

Healthy Grillables and Couscous (Homage to Tres_T)
One awesomely large zucchini, or a few smaller ones
One bell pepper
Sea Salt
Chimayo Chili Pepper (the secret to my success)*
Extra-virgin Olive Oil (Spanish variety if you can find it)
Couscous
Raw carrots
Parsley

Okay, so to start, make sure that you wash everything well--if you don't wash your veggies before eating them, shame on you...next time you're riding on the freeway and you see a Kroger truck, or even your local farm truck, think of what's inside and how dirty the Gene Snyder's air really is. Now you'll wash away.

Heat up that stovetop grill on high heat, without oil. Then you take a sharp knife and cut the zucchini at a diagonal, about 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick to give it a good cooking surface. To check the temp of the grill, sprinkle some water on it and listen for a quick sizzle. You're all set to evenly distribute the zucchini and listen, smell, and watch them grill. I turned them with a fork, but tongs (my next investment) would be the wiser choice. As they are flipped, judged by their grill marks, and moved to a plate to rest, make up your seasoning. A mixture of chili powder and salt. Because you bought an awesomely large zucchini, you'll have to grill in batches, so season in between batches. Take a pinch in your fingers, hold it up high over the plate, and sprinkle--José Andrés taught me that if you hold the seasonings up high, you get a more evenly distributed season...so you don't end up with one bland veggie and one that has so much chili powder on it that you lose salivary gland control.

Now that your seasoned zucchini are resting, you can rock out on the bell peppers. I used red bell peppers, you can go stoplight -red, yellow, green- if you're feeling it, or if they are on sale. I know, at least in the States, that bell peppers can get really pricey especially in the off season (that should tell you to eat seasonally). Cut that baby horizontally, so that you end up with bell pepper rings. Discard the white membrane and seeds, as well as the stem--I've been told that they don't really help out the digestive system...nor do they add flavor. Grill those rings on both sides, also without oil. They will grill up nicely.

Place the bell pepper rings on top of the already grilled zucchini and drizzle a little olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt before setting it on the table in all it's indoor grilled glory.

Now prepare the couscous. This delightful grain is so embarassingly easy, if you haven't tried it, you'll give me an extra big hug the next time we meet. Measure out a cup of water, bring it to a boil, measure out a cup of couscous, and add it to the boiling water. Decrease the heat to low, and it should be ready in about 2 minutes with a lid on, no kidding. Open that up, fluff it a bit and add chopped raw carrot, parsley, and salt to taste. I like the texture of the raw carrot, as well as its sweetness, so I serve it right away. If you popped it in the water right when you added the couscous, you would get a softer carrot. Do whatever makes you feel good.

To serve, make a bed of the fluffy couscous (a drizzle of olive oil helps here too) and top with the grillables. To garnish, you can zest a bit of lemon on top and sprinkle some extra parsley over everything.
Enjoy, my friends!
* Chimayo chili powder is from the chimayo chili, a native of New Mexico. It should be easy enough to find in a specialty supermarket, and of course online, the perpetual marketplace. It has a sweet, deep, and spicy flavor, which to me is just complex enough to lend itself to many uses in the kitchen.

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