Sushi Roll of the Month

This month I would like to nominate the ume shisho roll as the sushi roll of the month, a new (and perhaps one-time-only) distinction. This roll contains plum paste, a shisho leaf, and rice, so those leery of raw fish or who avoid meat can enjoy. The combination of the sweet and salty plum paste and fragrant, almost minty shisho leaf lead to an unexpected mix of flavors in the mouth. This roll also is low in fat and usually under $4. So unless there are any objections, the sushi roll of the month award for February goes to...ume shisho.

Some odds and ends from around the kitchen

One lone apple sat in the produce bin along with a couple of limes, a wilted head of basil, and the remains of parsley. There was no milk and even the supply of ramen was exhausted. I faced this situation half an hour ago when trying to decide what to have for lunch. After briefly considering the instant oatmeal box and the binder of takeout menus, I came up with a handful of ingredients.

1 can of chickpeas + 2 garlic cloves + 3 tablespoons of olive oil + the juice from 1 lime (the other was covered with mold) + a shake of red pepper flakes + 1 teaspoon of salt + about 1/2 cup of water went into the blender to make hummus.

3 roma tomatoes, sliced in half , sprinkled with salt, and placed on a baking sheet, went into the oven for 20 minutes. When the tomatoes were finished, I sliced each piece of tomato in half.

I spread the hummus on the crackers and placed a tomato piece on top. The once desperate lunch situation had come to a very satisfying resolution.

Pensive about Veganism

If you grew up near Berkeley, CA, you've probably had brushes with veganism. You have that friend who eschews altoids and glares at your vintage leather jacket. You like tofu, feel lukewarm about seitan and uneasy about TVP. You may have even given up meat for a month when you were seventeen until the family trip to France forced you to concede.

All these thoughts and more went through my head yesterday at Angelica's Kitchen, a vegan restaurant in the East Village. Angelica's Kitchen is the kind of place where there are sesame seed shakers and soy sauce on the hardwood table, and where your waiter looks like a cross between Ben Savage and Rider Strong. Lunch was fantastic, reasonably priced for New York City ($17 for two people), and filling. The vegan chili was better than many ground-beef chilis that I've had (and I feel very strongly that ground beef belongs in chili), the salad was crunchy and fresh, and the walnut "pate", curry spread, and "sushi" rolls were fun to eat.

I admit that some trepidation crept into my heart when the restaurant came up as a possibility. Would the food be flavorless? Would everything be over-salted? Would I have to shell out $15 for an unsatisfying dish and then sneak off afterwards for a pizza slice to fill up? All these preconceptions were swept away.

So in the spirit of "eating to live" rather than "living to eat" (some phrase I heard uttered on a show from The Food Network), I resolve to eat and cook more vegan meals this year. Don't get me wrong--I will not give up L'Exploreteur cheese or bun cha Hanoi or rare beef. And I believe that eating fish several times a week has physical and mental health benefits (translation: eating sushi makes me happy.) But for those Tuesday nights when I don't know what to make or the end of the week when I'm trying to cook something healthy and inexpensive, I'm going to turn to my vegan cookbook. First up tonight: Vegetable stew with sourdough bread and mixed green salad. Time to hit the produce section.

Our Indoor Herb Garden

I was initially resistant to the idea of planting herbs indoors. There was the fear of the cat eating the herbs and getting sick, and also the fear of a roach invasion. In college, my houseplant wilted and sank into its pot, probably due to insufficient water and sunlight. But my husband, who does most of the watering anyway, was set on having a few herbs to turn to when the store was too far or the basil too expensive. He took a pot we had kept full of little flowers on our fire escape until the flowers died with the New York autumn weather. In it, he planted some basil, rosemary, and chives. Now we water every day, or whenever the basil starts to wilt. While the rosemary has only been used for rosemary roasted potatos and for a baked pasta, the basil has been used constantly, for every tomato based pasta sauce and occasionally for bruschetta or pizza. Unfortunately, the cat thought the chives were cat grass, and they are a flattened bunch of dry stalks. On the brighter side, she hasn't gotten sick.

More Fish Tacos

Since I love tacos and fish, here's another fish taco recipe. The last recipe was inspired by some tacos I had while on vacation in Maui. This recipe is inspired by the meat tacos I've had in Rosarito, Mx. I have substituted mahi-mahi for meat.

Ingredients
Corn Tortillas, 6
Frozen Mahi mahi, two fist-sized pieces, defrosted
Small Bunch of Cilantro
Tomato, ripe if possible
Small Onion
1 lime
Plenty of salt

Optional but highly suggested
Guacamole (simplest: 1 mashed avocado + juice of 1 lime + salt to taste)
Salsa--homemade or store bought, I like the Green Mountain brand

Chop the following: the tomato, the onion, and the cilantro. Arrange these items separately around a plate. Lightly salt the pile of tomato. Cut the lime lengthwise into 6 wedges and add to the place of condiments. Salt the mahi-mahi and cook in a lightly oiled pan (olive oil preferable but canola is also acceptable) until fish is flaky. Chop the fish into quarter-to-nickel sized flakes and lightly grill the tortillas over an open flame on both side until you see small black marks. Place a roughly equivalent amount of fish in each tortilla. Serve with salsa and guacamole. Each eater can place the condiments that they choose in their tacos.
Serves two people.

Lemons

Gazette reader Zander has suggested that I write about lemons. Here I go. Lemons are universally known for their sour flavor (except for the famed sweet Mayer lemons). They differ from limes in their appearance and flavor. Many varieties of lemons, including the ones my mother grows in her backyard, are fragrant. When used in moderation, they can accent the flavor of many a dish, from Zander's favorite pho to a stuffed grape leaf or dolma. Paradoxically, they can also be used to mask or tone down flavors such as the fishy flavor of seafood or the sweetness of a concoction that has had too much sugar added (the same can be done with a dish that has been over-salted.) Here are five suggested culinary uses for lemon:
1. Bake some potatoes in olive oil and toss with a squeeze of lemon and parsley.
2. Squeeze into rice and add some chopped cilantro for rice pilaf.
3. Add juice to soy sauce and marinate tofu in it for baking.
4. Grate and saute for the base of a pasta sauce.
5. Cut into slices and place into pitcher of ice water for a refreshing and low-sugar drink.

Webpage to muse over

When I can't decide what to eat and feel lazy (which occurs on a fairly regular basis), www.menupages.com is where I go for oodles of take-out and delivery menus. You probably know about this site already if you live in New York, but if you didn't, it has online menus for many Manhattan restaurants, plus reviews (where your IP address is recorded, to avoid multiple postings from one computer). Just make sure you disable your pop-up blocker.

Cheese Corner: A Cheese for Grating

While it lacks the complex flavor and grainy texture of true Parmesan Reggiano, Argentine Parmesan is a perfectly respectable substitute when used as a grating cheese for everyday pastas, salads and salads. Argentine Parmesan is $3.99/lb (in Gourmet Garage stores, Manhattan) and you get what you pay for. A recent taste test revealed to this writer that it is mild and insipid, but with a sharp enough edge to draw flavor and attention as a topping or as part of a sauce. When eaten alone, this cheese is almost rubbery, but is acceptable in texture when grated. Argentine Parmesan is not the cheese to display on a cheese board, but if you need some gratings for a Caesar salad, it will get the job done.

Zucchini days

Zucchini is what I eat when I feel lazy--so lazy that chewing on lettuce is too much of an effort, as is trying to figure out something to do with cabbage. This is what I've been doing lately: cutting the zucchini into slices, then boiling it until it is soft, and serving as a side dish for everything--rice and salmon, pasta with bolognese sauce, mashed potato and chicken sausage. Zucchini is becoming a perfect food for these last few days of summer, when the humidity lingers in the air, and you can't wait for fall.

The Glory of Summer Tomatoes

Today is Labor Day, which some consider to be a marker of the end of summer. School has started, the sun is setting earlier, and white pants are being stored for next year. However, the season lives on for tomatoes. Summer tomatoes are real tomatoes meant for eating. Those rock-hard, pale red, flavorless orbs in December supermarkets are only good if used for self-defense. On the other hand, carefully chosen tomatoes in the summer are aromatic, slightly acidic, juicy, and delicious on their own or lightly seasoned with salt and olive oil. The key is to choose a ripe tomato, meaning that it is squishy enough to give when squeezed but not so much as to liquefy, that it emits a pleasant odor, and that it is brightly colored, whether red for the conventional tomato, or maybe a vibrant yellow for an heirloom varietal. Never mind dirt, which can be washed off, or scars, which, to my knowledge, have no bearing on flavor. Just pick a good one, and enjoy a pleasure available for another month or two.