Chanterelles and finishing moving

I decided to cook up the chanterelles I picked up at the farmers market and give them a try. I think sitting in my backpack and on my counter for a while before being placed into my fridge caused their quality to deteriorate a bit. At least 1/4 of what I purchased had to be tossed because they were slimy/dark and withered. I had to clean the remaining mushrooms under water with a vegetable brush. I sauteed them in some duck fat and tossed in a little dried rosemary. Once they gained a little color, I mixed up a few eggs and added them into a pan. I let the pan cook on the stove top to set the bottom layer of the egg, and finished it in the oven under the broiler.

My main goal was to simply isolate the chanterelle's to have a better idea what they taste like. The chanterelles had an interesting flavor, somewhat fruity but also a little woodsy. They were very aromatic when cooking, but their flavor was a little muted. Unfortunately I didn't re-dry them after cleaning, so they ended up having a somewhat mushy texture. In general, they are an extremely delicate mushroom, and I could see them working well in lighter dishes. While they tasted fine, all the necessary prep work to clean them was a little tedious, and I doubt I will be using them much in the future. When using mushrooms, I like them to impart both a textural contrast within the dish and either a meaty or earthy flavor. My standard "go-to" shroom is a shiitake.

Hopefully I can finish moving over all of my remaining stuff today to the apartment. The move has been probably the best thing to happen to me in the last couple of months. Aside from cooking and blogging again, I am not eating junk anymore and back to exercising regulating. Hopefully I can maintain this momentum through the summer so I will be in a much better place for the start of next year. 

Brunch 

- Double Cafe Mam espresso with vanilla almond milk 

- 2 Duck egg scramble with rosemary and chanterelles

Update:
Was able to finish moving. After a quick trip to Fred Meyer, I dropped by Kings Market and picked up some shanghai bok choy. I seared seared off the chicken thighs that had been marinated over night. After the thighs were cooked, I added the bok choy to the pot and let them cook in chicken's drippings.

Dinner:
- 1 chicken thigh
- bok choy 

Farmer's Market, Kiva, and a Microwave

Saturday means the Farmer's Market. I am always amazed by the great quality of produce here in Eugene (though I would love to see a larger and cheaper selection of veggies used in the various Asian cuisines). My only complaint is the cost. Part of the reason why I started taking trips to the Sacramento Farmer's Market was that the goods and produce were a lot less expensive than at the local Safeway store. Any type of squash  - $1/lb, Herbs $1/huge bunch, etc. Here, they same produce costs anywhere between two to three times as much. In fact, the expensive "high end" Whole Foods/Market of Choice type grocery stores price on point (or cheaper) than most of the farmers. That being said, the produce at the farmer's market tends to be a bit fresher, and it can be fun to interface with the individuals that produce what you eat. Below is the price board for Sweet Leaf farms which represents about what you'll expect to pay at any stall in Eugene.

The quality is amazing, but when you have to pay so much for the ingredients, it really stifles one's ability to experiment. For example- paying $7 for a bunch of asparagus when they're in season is absurd. Now, I highly doubt that these prices are a reflection of greedy farmers collusively setting a price floor to gouge the common Eugenian. But it makes me wonder why food in Oregon in general, one of the most fertile places on earth, just seems so much more expensive than any other place I have lived. Maybe it's simply that Eugene's population cannot support the larger market of farmers to increase food supply and thereby drive down the price? I don't know. My favorite thing used to be to pick up some veggies I had never used before (i.e. a japanese eggplants, a bunch of long beans, or Chinese broccoli - gai lan) and just try to cook with them in different ways. Worst case scenario- you didn't like what you made/bought and you were out a $1. At the market today, there was one vendor selling gai lan, and it was $3 for effectively a single portion.

Despite my griping, I picked up an oz of winter chanterelles and a huge bunch of collards from Lost Creek each for $2.50. I then hit up the Kiva to pick up some remaining supplies and see what kind of produce they had available. They had some tasty looking heirloom tomatoes, so I picked one up for lunch. I was hoping some chicken breasts I put in the fridge last night had defrosted, but they were still rock hard. Consequently, the protein component of lunch was covered by 2 duck eggs. I ended up eating 2 scoops of the Zucchini side from last night, topped with the tomatoes and a little olive oil and red wine vinegar, some spring greens, and the two eggs.

 
Today I also picked up a microwave, bringing me one step closer to having a complete apartment. Now I don't have to cringe about creating an extra mess of pots and pans when I want to reheat leftovers.

The game plan for tonight is to change it up and cook with some Chinese flavor. I picked up some soy sauce, sambal paste, ginger, and scallions from Kiva, and still have some Napa cabbage and other assorted veggies in the fridge.

What I ate today:
Breakfast:
- Double Cafe Mam "Breakfast Mix" espresso (starting to really like coffee)
- 2 duck eggs - hit with some of my favorite Mexican hot sauce - Tapatia
- 1 smoked pork chop

Lunch:
- Double Cafe Mam espresso
- 2 duck eggs
- 1 medium heirloom tomato- I think it was a brandywine but hard to tell
- handful of mixed spring veggies
- 2 cups Green veggie side

Update:
I started marinating some chicken thighs in soy, sambal, garlic, scallion, rice vinegar, ginger, and Shaoxing Rice Wine. I am going to let them marinate overnight and cook them tomorrow. I used a similar flavor combination to make a stir fry. Ground beef, firm tofu, napa cabbage, carrots, etc. Finished with some siracha and green onion. Would have been nice to have my wok, but worked ok in my dutch oven. I have found there are two keys when making a stir fry:

First, it is important to understand the relative cooking times of the ingredients. A lot of people just throw everything in at once - which invariably results in over-cooked/under-cooked items, or just a mass of overcooked mush. Its also good to mix up textures and colors to make it interesting.

Second, it is important to cook out most of the liquid that accumulates as everything in the pot or wok starts to break down. The last thing you want is a soupy stir fry- especially since most of vegetables' nutrients will be contained in that liquid. I normally try to push everything in the pot to one side, flip the burner on high, and tilt to the opposite side so that liquid can reduce. Eventually it starts to darken as most of moisture evaporates, and at that point I combine the reduced sauce back in with the rest of the ingredients.

With enough left over for a couple of meals =) 

More Duck Eggs and Zucchini, Spinach, and Bacon side

I am a huge fan of eggs- but Gamboling Goats Heritage Farm's duck eggs are absolutely delicious. (http://www.gambolinggoats.com/ - cheapest I have seen duck eggs go for in Eugene and they deliver!) Below I have them down with a little more basil.

Last night I also made up a veggie side in bulk that I could add to whatever mains I am making for the day. I rendered down some bacon and duck fat with onion, celery, and a good amount of dried rosemary. Once the onions were translucent, I added chopped garlic, Zucchini, and Spinach. I let it simmer until the Zucchini were cooked, and finished with some uncooked green onion.

I turned out pretty well. The garlic and smoky porkiness of the bacon comes through and finishes with the mellow taste of the spinach and zucchini. The raw green onions provide an initial sharp oniony flavor and act as a nice textural contrast to the soft onions and zucchini. 

Daily Food intake:

Breakfast

2 cups Coffee (having fun with my AeroPress - cheaper than the energy drinks) 

2 duck eggs 

1 smoked pork chop

Lunch

1 cup coffee

1 Black Cherry Chobani Greek yogurt

A cup of the veggie side mixture  

Dinner

- Spring greens with balsamic vinaigrette

- A cup of the veggie side

- Remaining chicken thigh meat off of the rotisserie chicken 

Apartment Pictures

A couple from my new place:

Smoked Pork Chop and Eggs - post move

Yesterday's move went pretty well. It was a lot of fun moving all my stuff up 3 flights of stairs. The highlight of the day was that my box springs for by bed couldn't fit in the truck I was using, so one of my previous roommates helped me walk it 2 blocks down the road and up to my apartment.

This morning:
Early: grabbed a chunk of chicken breast off a rotisserie chicken I picked up last night

I had some duck eggs delivered and picked up couple of smoked pork chops from Long's Meat Shop. Duck eggs have a greater concentration of fat in the yolk and protein in the whites. The yolks are bright orange, and don't really pick up that sulfur-y taste when cooked. After seasoning, I seared off one side of the pork chop in some duck fat I also picked up from Longs, then flipped it and added my eggs. To make sure the tops of the whites set, I covered the skillet with a bowl for a minute or two. Before covering, I added some leaves of basil so they would not actually cook, but just wilt slightly. Overall- solid. Probably going to be my new go-to breakfast.

Breakfast

- Rotisserie chicken breast

- Strawberry Chobani fat-free Greek yogurt 

- Sugar-free Rockstar 

- Diet Hanzen Tangerine Lime soda 

After Thursday, I will be able to say that I survived my first year of law school. Yay! And after my next (and hopefully second-to-last move in Eugene), I plan on exhuming this dead blog.

New Game Plan,

I will start posting every single thing I eat each day and posting it up to the site.

Having a permanent record of your dietary habits is a good way to be able to analyze them in a more detached and constructive way. Indeed, I will need to overcome the impulse to lie on the blog and write honestly. I will also make an effort to photograph my meals, and try not to repeat and dishes. Since I will be going through the effort of describing and photographing my meals, I imagine that I will also take extra care in their preparation.  

My last final occurs at 8:30am on May 12^th. After that, I get to box up my things for the move and work on my law journal competition entry. Move will hopefully go off on the 18^th, so hopefully I’ll be able to cook something that night for presentation.

I am excited as my new place is within easy walking distance of both a bus stop and a Market of Choice.

Not being able to cook at my present place has really put a crimp in my soul. It’s going to be awesome to bust out the immersion circulator and really put all my acquired gear to good use. 

Jerk Chicken and Collard Greens

Finally cleaned up the house's kitchen and decided to get cooking. I am a huge fan of Dave's Insanity Sauce brand. Last time I was at the larger Market of Choice on Willamette I noticed that Dave's makes a jerk sauce. I love Jerk chicken, but normally it is fairly expensive to make due to the ingredients involved. I figured I'd give it a shot. Marinated a chicken breast in the sauce, seared it off in my cast iron skillet and finished it in the oven.

I have never had a straight dish of collard greens that I have ever liked enough to try it again. It's bitter aftertaste is just a bit too unpleasant. The best preparation I have tried to date (prior to tonight) was at an Ethiopian restaurant in Sacramento. They use half collards and half spinach in their dish. I gave it a shot with my own spin and the dish turned out awesome. I started with some diced bacon which I rendered in a pot, then I added sliced onions and let them caramelize with the bacon. I added the collard greens and some water and salt, then let them simmer for about 30 minutes. I then added frozen spinach, seasoned it again, and let it simmer for about another 20 minutes. Right about the time my chicken was finishing up, I uncovered the pot, kicked up the heat a little, and cooked away most of the remaining liquid. Collards are normally really cheap and healthy, and this is a great way to prepare them in a delicious way.

 

   
I was pretty disappointed with the chicken. Dave's jerk sauce isn't too great, not anywhere near as hot as its other sauces and somewhat bland. The collards turned out great and I'll definitely be making them again. I ate half the plate and plan to eat the rest tomorrow for lunch.

Hopefully the workload won't be too awful this semester and I can start cooking and posting again.

Pork shoulder is sooooo good

Pigs are the perfect sustainable animals to feed man. They produce both protein and fat, the very fuel your body needs to run efficiently.

Here is some pork shoulder that eventually was added to some leftover bacony onions and rounded out with Eggs and a splash of Tapatia for good measure.

A Worthy Post

Finally have my room set up, so here is a better caliber of post.

Last weekend at the farmers market I picked up a bag of multi-colored fingerling potatoes. In their raw state, they aren't very usable. My favorite "easy" way to get potatoes edible is to simply roast them.

It was 11:00 a.m. and I figured I would do some economy-of-scale cooking and make lunch while simultaneously preparing other condiments for later. Had some herbed goat-cheese and a spring greens mix from trader joes, so I figured I'd make a salad. I consequently wanted bacon, and figured I could use the rendered bacon fat for the potatoes- and then use if to cook up some yellow and green onions. Understand, the fat from the 3 pieces of bacon I cooked was the only fat that was used to cook the meal (and left-over portions).

Once the bacon was done, I patted it dry on a paper towel. After it had cooled and become crispy, I roughly tore up the pieces to make sure each bite of the salad could get a little bit of bacon.

About half of the rendered fat went into a stainless steel bowl with the potato wedges and I tossed with salt and pepper to even coat everything. Using tongs in a bowl is probably the easiest way to do this effectively to ensure that your finished potatoes aren't greasy. Meanwhile, into the skillet with the other half of the bacon fat went a whole yellow onion and the white-leakish side of 3 green onions and 1 or two of the stalks.

I let the onions cook on high since were so many of them. The potatoes went back onto the sheet pan and into the oven set to 550F (as high as it would go). They ended up taking about 30 minutes- but I was opening the door a bunch to move the onions in and out since the smoke detector kept going off even though there was really no discernible smoke. The potatoes took longer than anticipated, so I already had busted into my finished salad before they were ready to go on.

Putting it all together.... With proper amount of acid- in this case, balsamic and red wine vinegar

Have about 2 portions of onions and potatoes ready for the next meal :)

Computer back up and running!

Finally hooked up my main computer so I can blog again. Here was breakfast...

Summer Squash, Goat Cheese, Bacon, and Onions

Random fridge purging at 11:00 p.m. w/ friends. Very rich, but very delicious.

Heirloom Tomato Tart

Had some left over pizza dough in the fridge and one more tomato from the farmer's market. A make shift pizza was definitely in order.

Bacon Basil Tomato Sandwich

Take advantage of the cheap and delicious tomatoes right now in the farmer's market- here is a great way:

Bacon Basil Tomato Sandwich

I like basil over lettuce in my "BLT" just because I prefer the spicy and sweet aspects of fresh basil over the watery or bitter crunch that you get with lettuce. Plus the bacon is already giving you crunchiness, so I think the basil on the whole adds more to the sandwich. Bright colors and bold flavors- but really it is all about the  meaty slices of delicious summer tomatoes.

Ingredients:

• Favorite artisan roll toasted w/ bacon fat from the pan as the bacon cooks- Alot of the bakeries in Eugene make roll size versions of their breads. New Eugene Bread Co has a stand at the farmer's Market where you can get 6 for $5 or $1 a pop. Really good- I got 2 Cheddar Sourdough, 1 Cibatta, 1 French Rye, 1 Sourdough, 1 Kalamata Olive. The sandwhich in the picture is on a Cheddar Sourdough Roll.

• Heirloom Tomatoes w/ Salt, olive oil, and a little balsamic- I prefer the tomato to be the star of the sandwich with the basil and bacon helping to show off the tomato. The heirloom range runs the gamut of color and flavor, so mix and match until you have a good idea of what you like. 

• Fresh Basil- Fresh basil has a natural spicy sweet quality, a vibrant green color, and adds an additional texture to the sandwich.

• Thick Cut bacon- cooked till crispy and most of the fat had rendered- then cooled till crunchy

*if you need a fatty component to round it all out- I'd hit it with some Goat Cheese or a fried egg*

Chicken Salad

Had not updated for a while- here was yesterday's lunch:

Chicken Salad
- Hard boiled egg whites (yolks were used in the vinegrette)
- Confit Chicken Thighs- cooked in bacon fat, garlic, rosemary, and thyme
- Bacon "lardons" - giant chunks of really crispy bacon - bacon bits on steroids
- Oven-roasted potatoes - leftover w/ cajun seasoning
- Baby Spring green mix
- Balsamic vinaigrette w/ red wine vinegar, olive oil, and the hardboiled yolks of the eggs.

Really good- the vinaigrette turned out a bit on the acidic side and consequently was able to hold up against the chicken thigh meat and the salty bacon. No complaints, and an elegant way to use leftovers from breakfast.