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Chinese Noodle Salad with Asparagus

4/27/2015

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A tasty vegan salad that will please a crowd and is great for any party or picnic. ​
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Chinese Noodle Salad with Asparagus
I have made this salad for many years and on many occasions but never for 50 people. The recipe comes from one of my old well-loved cook books,  The Greens Cookbook by Deborah Madison and Ed Brown. Deborah Madison was  Greens' founding chef.  Ed Brown is well known for his Tassajara Bread Book and so many other inspiring books on the Zen of cooking. I adore his books. If you are in San Fransisco, this well-loved vegetarian restaurant in Ford Mason has been an icon of gourmet vegetarian food for many years. It is a real San Francisco experience.
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At this time last year, I was in Marrakech for a week with a group of wonderful people including a very dear friend of mine. We had a great time exploring the sights and Moroccan  culture. Since I was with a group of Germans and Swiss, everybody assumed that I also was German. Who am I? German, American, or am I the sum of both? Here in the States, people ask me where I am from. I look at them and say Santa Cruz, especially when I am at  home in Santa Cruz. You see, after all these years, I still have a slight accent. When I am in Germany, people can't figure out where I'm from. I don't have an accent when I speak German, but I am different in the way I behave and dress. I don't fit the mold. I don't belong anymore. These  are subtle things. I love my German family and friends and I know that I am one of them, but my home is in Santa Cruz and that's where I am fortunate enough to live. I do miss going back to my mother and my childhood home. My mom is gone now and there isn't a day when I don't miss her—and the home and the love she gave me. My brother and his family are still at the farm, but I'm not ready to go back quite yet because it will not be the same. 

Life continues, it goes on and it is beautiful. I have so many things to be thankful for. I am thankful for my dear friends, Diane and George, and their beautiful serene mountain retreat. It is a dream, even when it rains on the day of a big party. We were celebrating a birthday and a soon-to-be-married beautiful granddaughter. It was the only rain we had in months here in California, so nobody was complaining. An old spinnaker sail was hoisted over the picnic tables and it kept out most of the precious rain drops. There was a big, beautiful, smoked ham from the  Corralitos Meat Market local butcher, and much more delicious food.
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I  volunteered to make my Chinese noodle salad for 50 people. My big turkey fryer was the only container large enough to transport this humongous salad. 
It  was a lot of work, a labor of love. ​
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​If you are  looking for a refreshing drink for a lunch or party, try my strawberry punch or Erdbeerbowle as we call it in Germany. This is a wonderful way to drink your fruit. ​
Chinese Noodle Salad with Asparagus Recipe​
This is an excellent salad to bring to parties and picnics. You can double, triple or quadruple this recipe. The original recipe called for eggplant, but I have almost always used fresh asparagus. For this salad, I also added pistachio nuts and radishes. The marinade can be made a couple of days ahead and can be used for a week. The flavors improve overnight. I cooked the noodles a day ahead and mixed them with some of the dressing. I made sure that the noodles were well-coated with the dressing so that they did not stick together. I used my hands. The flavors will develop as the noodles sit. I blanched all the vegetables on the day of the event. Make sure all the veggies are still crisp and not overcooked. Less is more.
Print Recipe
Ingredients
Serves 4-6

14 ounces fresh Chinese egg noodles (the thinnest available)

The Marinade

7 TBS dark sesame oil
7 TBS soy sauce
3 TBS balsamic vinegar
3 TBS sugar
2 ½ tsp salt
1 TBS red pepper oil 
8-10 scallions, the whites & some of the greens
 (thinly sliced into rounds)
1 TBS fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
3 TBS cilantro, chopped

The Vegetables

1 pound or more asparagus 
½ pound mung bean sprouts (optional)
1 cup snow peas, strings removed
1-2 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced on the diagonal
3 TBS sesame seeds
handful of radishes, thinly sliced and then slivered
¼ cup toasted pistachios, cashews, or roasted peanuts (optional)
cilantro leaves for garnish
Directions

The  Marinade and Noodles

Combine the first seven ingredients in a bowl, and stir them together until the sugar is dissolved. Add the rest of the ingredients and store in a jar with a lid. I keep mine in a mason jar, so I can shake the marinade before using. The marinade will keep in the fridge for several days.

Bring a large pot of water to a roiling boil. While the water is heating, gently pull apart the the strands of noodles with your fingers, loosening them and fluffing them as you do so. Add the noodles to the boiling water and give them a quick stir. Cook them briefly, a few minutes at most. Immediately pour them in a colander and rinse them in cold water. Shake the colander vigorously to get rid of as much water as possible. Put the noodles in a bowl, stir your marinade and add about one third or more to the noodles. Spread the noodles on a baking sheet and toss them with your hands to prevent any sticking. If you want to refrigerate the noodles, put them back in the  bowl and cover them with plastic wrap. Allow them to come to room temperature before adding the vegetables.

The Vegetables

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil.  Blanch the snow peas until they are bright green, no more than 30 seconds. Immediately remove them with a strainer and put them in ice water. Let them dry on a towel and cut them into diagonal strips.

Blanch the sprouts in the same water for 30 seconds, rinse them in cold water and spread out to dry on a paper towel.

Break off the tough ends of the asparagus and blanch the stalks in boiling water for a few minutes (do not overcook them). Put the drained asparagus in ice water and spread out on the kitchen counter to prevent any further cooking. Cut the cooled asparagus into serving sizes. 

Roast the sesame seeds in a cast iron frying pan until they are lightly colored and smell toasty.

Assembling the salad

Carefully toss the salad using most of the vegetables with more marinade. Leave some of the veggies to decorate on top. Sprinkle the salad with cilantro leaves and sesame seeds. 

Recipe from the 
Greens Cookbook by Deborah Madison and Edward Espe Brown
adapted by ©sunnycovechef
​
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Lemon Almond Cake

4/25/2015

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Lemon Almond  Cake
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It will be Easter in a couple of days. To me, Easter is my favorite holiday. It means that spring is just around the corner, as the days get longer with so many signs of new beginnings. And it means that the days of darkness are in the past. 

It is also the time when I usually travel to Germany. I always looked forward to seeing my German family and celebrate Easter with them. My little village has traditions that get repeated  every year. One of my favorite ones is the bonfire on the night of Easter Sunday.  It is an old pagan ritual meant to chase away winter and its evil spirits and welcome spring. Today, it is mainly a social gathering to drink beer and eat sausages and apples. The belief is that the apples ensure good health for the coming year, but what about the sausage and the beer?
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There is also a tradition of having a big Easter dinner on Sunday or Monday. Easter lamb, chicken or eggs are typical meals. My family always has a brunch after the kids finished their Easter egg hunt. Many houses and town squares are decorated nicely with bunnies and eggs. This year I’m not going to Germany. I will stay at home here in Santa Cruz and go to  an annual Easter party on the mountain with my girlfriend and her family.  We will also celebrate an upcoming marriage and a birthday. There will always be new beginnings. ​
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This  cake has a distinct lemony  taste because  whole lemons are being used. The almonds add crunch and one can taste a hint of candied ginger, a delight for the senses.
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Years ago, a genius cook made up this recipe using whole lemons and Sunset magazine printed it. It is a nutty, chewy, not-too-sweet cake with the flavor of whole lemons including the rind. If  you want sweet lemon bars, you picked the wrong recipe. This cake is not sweet and does not taste like a regular lemon desert. Since this recipe uses the whole lemon, you get a very lemony somewhat bitter flavor. To mellow out the flavor, the lemons are cooked and then used in the recipe. I have made this cake many times and most of my family and friends like it, but not everybody likes the distinct bitter lemon flavor. So you wonder, “Why is she posting it?” The answer is because I love the flavor and texture of this cake, so it has a worthy place in my cooking repertoire. 

The cake lasts for several days and tastes even better the next day. The almonds add a crunchy, chewy quality to the cake that I love. How will you know if you like it or not? If you like orange or lemon marmalade, you will probably like this desert. 

If you want another choice for a lemon dessert, try my lemon bread. It is a more traditional recipe since it uses only the juice of the lemon. I would be very interested what you think about my choices. By the way, my niece, who was visiting me from Germany requested lemon bars, the sweeter the better. I made most of her favorite food while she was here, like butternut squash lasagne with hazelnuts, which I will post soon. ​
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Happy Easter
Fröhliche Ostern
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Boiling the lemons
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The quartered lemons
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The lemon purée
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Print Recipe
Ingredients

12 ounces Meyer lemons (3 large ones)
1 tsp butter (for greasing the pan)
½ cup all-purpose flour
1½ cup whole almonds
5 eggs at room temperature
1 cup of sugar
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
½ tsp almond extract
¼ cup candied or crystallized ginger, finely diced


The Glaze
½ cup powered sugar
1 TBS lemon juice and thin slices ol lemons for garnish
Directions

Preheat oven to 350˚

Butter and flour a 9-inch pan with removable rim.

Pulse almonds in a food processor until the nuts resemble coarse cornmeal. Add flour and salt and pulse to combine. Put in a bowl.

Cover the lemons with  cold water and bring to a boil. Simmer the lemon at low heat for 20 or more minutes. 

When the lemons are soft drain them and let them cool down.
Once the lemons are cool, cut them into quarters and gently remove seeds . Do this on a plate to keep all the juices. 
Pulse the lemons in a food processor until they become a smooth, thick purée.

With a mixer beat the egg yolks with he sugar until thick and pale yellow. Stir in  the lemon purée, extract, and candied ginger. Add almond mixture and stir to combine.

Beat egg whites until they form firm peaks. Gently fold egg whites into batter. Spread batter in prepared pan. 

Bake until edges of cake to pull away from the sides of the pan, about one hour. Cool on rack for 15 minutes , then remove from pan and cool completely. 

In a bowl , combine powdered sugar and lemon juice until smooth. Spread the glaze over cake and decorate with lemon slices or whatever you like. This is a fun activity for kids.

Guten Appetit!
recipe by Carolyn Gratton Eichin
adapted by Sunnycovechef.com
​
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Gerlinde's Versatile Lentil Salad

4/13/2015

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Why Do We Cook?

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​Why do we cook? We have to eat of course, but we don’t necessarily have to cook to do so. Today, we have many options including eating out at restaurants or bringing prepared food home. One of the questions I often ask people is, “Do you cook?” Many times, the answer is,”not really!” I ask that question because I love to talk about food and cooking. It’s almost an obsession. I ask questions, I snoop around cooking blogs, I go directly to the food section in magazines and so on. I relish food with my senses by smelling it and enjoying the different flavors. I know I’ve come across something special when the flavors explode in my mouth and create a sensation of pure pleasure. That is what happened several weeks ago at my little cabin in the woods.
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Pinecrest Lake
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My sister-in-law and her family came over for dinner. My husband grilled a beautiful rack of lamb and some small white creamer potatoes on the side. He does this to perfection and everybody loves it. He slices the rack into paired ribs and generously coats them with pepper and garlic salt. He puts them on a gas grill on medium heat and pays attention so they do not burn. He serves them medium rare. Sometimes, depending on the ribs, he trims the excess fat. He precooks his potatoes in the microwave for about 2-3 minutes depending on the number of potatoes. The potatoes go in a bowl with olive oil and garlic salt. You want to have a good coating of olive oil on all the potatoes. Then he puts them on the upper grill and cooks them with the meat until they are soft. He coats the potatoes during the grilling with leftover olive oil. He sits outdoors next to his barbecue, enjoying a scotch, watching his food cook as I busy myself in the kitchen.

On this particular night, I roasted some fresh asparagus coated with walnut oil sprinkled with sea salt in a preheated oven at 375˙degrees for about 8 minutes. The cabin is at a 6000-foot elevation, so the cooking time increases. I made my citrus vinaigrette for my green salad and pulled out my sauces and condiments that everybody loves with the lamb. Mint jelly is a must, however, my mountain fridge had some wonderful treasures—like the cranberry ketchup I made for our Christmas dinner and never used, and my green sauce that I made a couple of days before to go with salmon cakes. This green sauce had more garlic than normal and was mostly yogurt with some chives. We had a great dinner, and the wine and conversation was flowing. Everybody seemed to enjoy the food. I covered my little creamy potatoes and pieces of lamb with the different sauces—and it was divine. Some of the little lentils from my lentil salad were swimming in the sauce–and oh what flavor! Every bite brought more joy. ​
Earlier that day, I made a lentil salad to go along with the feast. I have made lentil salad many times and it never turns out the same. There is a wonderful recipe from Regina Schrambling on the Wednesdaychef blog that I sometimes make. It uses leeks, hazelnuts and duck confit. Most of the time, I just make a simple vinaigrette that I pour over the warm lentils for a delicious salad that I can eat for days to come. This time, I cooked some carrots with my lentils and added some celery and to the finished salad. When I eat the salad by itself I like to add either goat or feta cheese. ​
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I used walnut oil in this recipe, but a good olive oil will do. Walnut oil gives the salad a wonderful nutty flavor. Walnut oil is sold in small bottles because it doesn’t last long.
Print Recipe
Ingredients

1 cup French lentils 

3 cups water

3 small sprigs of thyme or 1 tsp. dried thyme

2 cloves garlic

2 bay leaves

1 small carrot (for cooking)

3/4 cup finely diced carrots (to add to the salad)

1 tsp. salt

The dressing

1 TBS Dijon mustard

2 TBS champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar

¼ cup walnut oil or olive oil

¼ cup chopped chives

1 TBS chopped fresh tarragon

1 small shallot (peeled and minced)

Additions to the salad

freshly ground pepper to taste

coarse sea salt to taste 

1 TBS vinegar

1 celery rib (finely diced)

goat or feta cheese

lettuce ​
​Directions

Rinse the lentils and put them with the thyme, garlic, bay leaves, the carrot, water and 1 tsp. salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring often.

 Decrease the heat to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes. Add the diced carrots and simmer for an additional 3-5 minutes. Do not overcook, as the lentils should still have a light crunch.

While the lentils are cooking, make the dressing. Whisk together the mustard and vinegar in a  bowl. Whisk the oil to emulsify. Add the shallots and fresh tarragon. 


Drain the lentils well, discarding the thyme branches, the garlic, the whole carrot and the bay leaves. Combine the dressing with the warm lentils, mixing well, and let it cool to room temperature. Stir occasionally.  Add  the chives and the celery. Then add additional vinegar, salt and pepper to taste. Add goat or feta cheese before you serve the salad. The salad will last in the fridge for several days, but you may have to season the salad again.

Guten Appetit!
Recipe by © sunnycovechef.com
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    WELCOME TO SUNNY COVE CHEF

    Thank you for visiting my blog.  My two passions are cooking and traveling. Traveling exposes me to a wide variety of food and experiences. I walk around cities looking for markets, restaurants, bakeries, shops, you name it, and if it is related to food you will find me there, tasting, smelling, talking to vendors, and having a great time.

    ​
    If you  have tried any of my recipes, snap a photo and tag me @sunnycovechef I'd love to see your creations!​


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