Cookish: What's For Dinner?

Mushroom Barley Soup!


This recipe is from my friend, K. She gave it to me in approximate measures, so that is how I am going to give it to you. K uses quick-cook barley, but I couldn't find any. I found pearled barley at my grocery, which takes 35-45 minutes to cook. With the quick-cook barley, K says you only need to simmer the soup for 15 minutes.


Ingredients:
olive oil
shallots
mushrooms
thyme
pepper
carrots
celery
barley
cream of mushroom soup
chicken stock


Saute the shallots and mushrooms in Olive oil. Add some thyme and pepper. You can add salt, but unless you've bought the reduced sodium cream of mushroom soup and chicken broth (and sometimes even then), it may be salty enough. I recommend tasting at the end and adding salt then, if necessary. Add the cut-up carrots and celery and a cup of barley. Stir in the cream of mushroom soup and chicken stock. How much? I recommend getting a quart-size box. After you've put in the cream of mushroom soup, fill the can with stock/broth twice. Then, monitor the liquid level as the barley cooks, and add more as necessary. You can make it as thick or as thin as you like. Bring the soup up to a boil, and then turn down the heat and simmer for about 35 and then start testing for doneness. Stir occasionally and keep an eye on the liquid level. It's a very tasty and filling soup! It is pretty easy to throw together, too.

Cookish Blog: Meanwhile, Back in the kitchen

http://hcrecipes.blogspot.com/

Meanwhile, Back in the Kitchen is a fun cooking blog. My latest find there: DELICIOUS hot cocoa. I, for one, love hot cocoa, but I never really make it from scratch. Or, I should say, I never used to. I think I am ruined for microwave cocoa forever.

Here you go:

"Hot Cocoa

1 serving

1 tablespoon cocoa

1 tablespoon sugar

Pinch salt

1/3 cup wate

r2/3 cup milk

Mix cocoa, sugar, and salt in a small saucepan, slowly stir in water. Heat and stir over moderately low heat until mixture boils, then boil slowly, stirring constantly, 2 minutes. Add milk and heat to scalding [almost boiling] but do not boil."

Bookish Review: Julie & Julia

This book follows Julie Powell as she decides to cook her way through Julia Child's first cookbook in a year. That's over 500 recipes, people. Was she a little bit insane? Yes, yes, she was. The book was born from her blog, and I just found out that it is going to be a movie as well. (I found that a bit surprising.)



So, I'm not usually that much into memoir, but this was pretty good. It's about cooking and craziness and it's pretty funny. There are some disgusting parts, and her blind hatred for Republicans was a little annoying, because it doesn't really have anything to do with anything that is going on in the story. For the most part, though, the book is humorous and sweet, and it really is a rather amazing feat--I mean, could you bring yourself to cook brains and kidneys in aspic and all kinds of other revolting or unnecessary preparations, and then actually eat it? I think I'll pass!

Bookish Movie: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Ok, so technically, this is a "short-story-ish" movie, but I think it counts. I have not read the F. Scott Fitzgerald story on which the movie is based, so I can make no comparisons there, but I can tell you the movie is beautiful. It is set in New Orleans, which I believe is different from the setting of the story. Unlike most of the movies set in New Orleans, the accents are actually not bad, and they managed to capture some of the beauty and magic of the city. In addition, the special effects and make-up work are incredible. The movie is long, but it is a beautiful story of love and loss and life and death. Cate Blanchett and Brad Pitt do a great job, and Taraji P Henson does perhaps the best job of all as Benjamin's adoptive mother. She is very deserving of the Critic's Choice and SAG awards she has already won, and I sincerely hope she gets nominated for an Oscar.

It's a very bittersweet movie, but beautiful and moving. Highly recommended.

Book Review: Can You Keep a Secret?

Can You Keep a Secret? is by Sophie Kinsella, author of the Shopaholic novels, coming soon to a theatre near you. This is the first book I have read by Kinsella, and it was much better than I anticipated. The book was, at times, laugh-out-loud funny, which was a bit of a surprise. Now, don't get me wrong--there is nothing deep or life-changing in this book. It is simply a fun, fluffy, fast read. But I think there is a place for books like that, and this one gets a place on my bookshelf.

Emma Corrigan doesn't have a great job, she hates to fly, and she has some embarrassing secrets. On a flight back from a disastrous business meeting, she imbibes too much, and when turbulence makes her certain she is going to die, she begins spilling all of her secrets to the handsome American stranger next to her, expecting never to see him again once they land. But he soon shows back up in her life in an unexpected way and starts turning her world upside down.

Good fun, great beach read. Recommended.

Bookish Review: Inkheart

Inkheart by Cornelia Funke is a book for booklovers. Technically, it is a children's book, but I think bibliophiles of all ages will enjoy it. It will shortly be released as a movie, though what I have seen of the trailers so far leads me to believe they have taken some liberties with the story. Meggie and her father have the ability to read books to life, but at a price. When Meggie was only three, her father (Mo) was reading aloud to her mother, and three characters from the book appeared in their world and Meggie's mother disappeared into the book. Meggie's father vows never to read aloud again. He works as a book doctor, repariring bindings and chewed pages, and he and Meggie are continually on the run from Capricorn, one of the characters he set loose in the world, though Meggie does not know it. Capricorn is a true villan, and wants to get his hands on Mo so Mo can read him riches and other tools from books that will help him increase his power. When it is discovered that Meggie also has the talent, Capricorn is happy to use her instead.
The book is an adventure, a love letter to books, and a really good read. I will certainly write a review of the movie when I see it, and of the other books in the trilogy when I read them. Highly recommended for book lovers of all ages. I also found myself wanting to read many of the passages aloud--it would be a great one to share at bedtime with kids, as long as they are not too young. There are some scary elements in the book, and we don't want nightmares, now do we?

Cookish: What's for Dinner?

Featured Ingredient: Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah)

Quinoa is a delicious, nutty grain. If you like couscous, I'd suggest giving it a try; it has kind of a similar texture, but more flavor, and it is a very healthful, whole-grain ingredient.

So, for dinner this week, I made a quinoa salad inspired by a recipe on chow.com. You can find the original recipe here: http://www.chow.com/recipes/10179

Here's what I did:

2 cups quinoa

3 cups water

2 tsp garam masala

1 tbs sesame oil

3 stalks celery, finely diced

2 carrots, finely diced

salt

pepper

mandarin oranges

nuts

Rinse the quinoa and toast in a dry skillet over medium heat for about 10 minutes. Bring the water to a boil with 1 tsp of the garam masala and salt. When the water boils, add the quinoa and return to a boil. Cover and cook on low for 15 minutes.

In the skillet, heat the sesame oil. Add the 2nd tsp of garam masala, carrots, and celery and saute until your desired tenderness. Season with salt and pepper.

When the quinoa is done, fluff with a fork and add the veggies, nuts, and mandarin oranges. Serve hot or cold.

Notes: The original recipe called for currants. I planned to use raisins (which I would have added when the water was boiling to plump them up), but I discovered my box of raisins had about 5 left. Oops. I did have a can of mandarin oranges, though, so I drained those and added them at the end. Raisins would be fine, too, though.

I cooked the quinoa in water as the recipe suggested, but next time I will use chicken stock as I usually do.

I don't like scallions, so planned to use onions, but then found I didn't have any. Oops. I will probably saute some with the celery and carrots next time.

For the nuts, I had a few almonds and pecans, but mostly used peanuts. Anything with some crunch is good.

I ate this hot for dinner, and it was okay, but it was much better the next day, cold, for lunch.