Elizabeth’s going out of town this morning and she’s leaving me with a hefty sack of kiwis. I like kiwis but I don’t really know what to do with them other than cut them up for a fruit salad.
So what do I do with them? I could look up some recipes, but my earlier request for ways to use a box of Meyer lemons resulted in so many great ideas that I thought I’d tap you again for kiwi suggestions. Please send recipes, links, ideas.
For Elizabeth’s birthday dinner last night, we’d planned to cook steaks at home. She was feeling a little homesick and wanted something comforting. She was also craving something with a “browned, salty crust,” so we were going to pan-fry two filets in butter, bake some potatoes and cook some kale we had leftover from the weekend.
But we ended up going out instead. So this morning, after a near-all nighter at the computer (some husband, huh?), I made dinner for breakfast. The steak was umami-packed and rich (I drizzled a buttery wine pan sauce on top) and the potato was crisped on the outside, starchy and steamy.
The kale was the real winner. I stemmed and thinly sliced it, then blanched it for 5 minutes in a pot of boiling water. Meanwhile, I sautéed a thinly sliced red onion in a large sauté pan. I drained the kale and rinsed it with cold water, then wrung it dry like a dish towel.
I pulled apart the kale and tossed it with the onions in the sauté pan. I seasoned the vegetables generously with salt and pepper. I added the zest from 1 lemon, the juice from half the lemon and several shakes of red pepper flakes.
The kale was bright and hot and herbacious and citrusy, and it cut through the meat like a white hot light.
Asiago, Cowgirl Creamery Red Hawk (washed-rind cow’s milk cheese), pickled chiles, Carr’s Table Water Crackers, Grüner Veltliner.
Seared and roasted pork loin chop with quinoa, and a salad made with thinly sliced pickling cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, sliced pickled peppers and feta, tossed with pumpkin oil and champagne vinegar.
Thanks for being patient with us while we get ready to unveil the very first working version of Cookthink. We’re scurrying to get our test-set of recipes and related cooking tips polished and in place. Fixing bugs, tweaking stylesheets. We expect the site to be up for testing early next week, and we can’t wait for you to see it.
Meanwhile, here’s a simple celery and fennel salad recipe. It would be delicious as a cold and tart contrast to anything grilled. Maybe with a chilled vinho verde or gruner veltliner? What’s today, Thursday?
It’s Elizabeth here with an update from the Brantley home. The Cookthink gang has spent the past days and nights making final adjustments to the main site in preparation for the imminent beta launch.
Meanwhile, I’ve got three months to go until the arrival our baby boy! I’m easing out of my cravings-and-aversions phase (still can’t eat green peppers, though), and in its place I’m feeling a great urge to clean and nest.
A month ago, I couldn’t go one day without eating summer sausage and Frank’s hot sauce. Now, I crave a tidy, organized, fresh and airy home. Never one to embrace order, I now drift off to sleep thinking of all the drawers and cabinets I hope to clean the next day. I’ve been attacking one room at a time, and yesterday, I began the kitchen.
I started by pulling everything out of the cabinets and setting it on counters and floor. Then, not really knowing what to do next, I took a nap. When I woke up, I checked the first two sources that came to mind — Martha Stewart and Real Simple — and reviewed some general organizational tips for the kitchen:
Make the things you use the most the easiest to get to. Create a “station” near the stovetop for really common tools and ingredients. Group similar items together. (For example, store baking items like sugar and baking chocolate in a cabinet above the standing mixer.) To keep your kitchen pest-free (we lost a few grains and flours to moths), store cereals, pastas, breads and flour in jars or airtight containers.
Some of this is Kitchen 101 (which I know Claire is going to explore in earnest later this summer), but I need all the guidance I can get. While the tidy pantry and cabinets are satisfying my need for order, I still don’t know what to do with our mismatched Tupperware, tangle of utensils and stacks of pots and pans that fall and clang every time I need to pull out the colander.
What tips or gadgets help you to run an efficient kitchen? Got any space-saving ideas or tools? Any websites or stores that you love for kitchen organization?
