Hummus and Pita

Who serves hummus and pita with cucumbers and tomatoes at a birthday party? Probably everybody in Lebanon, but in northwest Wisconsin? I’ll tell you who serves the hummus: I do.

While my lovely life(I meant to type “wife” but life is fitting) was driving her sister to the airport on Sunday morning, I awoke with the birthday boys (Gus 6, and Griffen almost 4) and started prepping for the birthday gathering at 2 p.m. I was supposed to clean, but I am always drawn to the kitchen like so many iron filings to a magnet. PITA, the kitchen screamed, make PITA for the party. Alright, pita it is. What a simple, basic, comforting food to prepare. Here is what I do:

Pre-heat your oven to 500F. Take 1 cup of bread flour, mix in 2 tsps. active dry yeast, 2 tsps. sea salt in a medium bowl. Measure 1 cup of hot water and add 2 TBSP good olive oil, swirl together and stir into the flour mix. Slowly add another 1 1/2 cups of flour to this mix and knead until a smooth elastic dough is formed. If you have a stand mixer, just dump this all together and knead with the bread hook for 5 minutes or so.

Once the dough is ready, flatten it into a round 8 to 9 inches in diameter, and cut into 8 even pie shaped wedges. Roll these into balls with your palms, cover with a damp tea towel, and let rest for about 30 mins.

While the dough was resting, I started rooting through the refrigerator for something to serve with the pita. Nothing. So I checked the pantry. Aha!! Garbanzo beans! So, hummus is now on the menu. Do I have tahini? No. Do any stores in the area carry tahini? Yes. Are they open on Sunday morning? No. In times like these we must press on, adapt, and overcome our obstacles. I did have stuffed spanish olives, green onions, and garlic, plus olive oil. So I took one can of garbanzo beans (drained), 3 olives, 3 green onion with stalk, 2 cloves of garlic, a pinch or two of oregano, and about 1/4 cup of olive oil (just enough to make the mix fluid) and chucked it all into the food processor. Initial taste tests confirmed it was good.

By now the dough had risen, and the oven was hot. I took the dough balls and flattened them with my hand, and then with a rolling pin, rolled them into 8″ discs, about 1/8″ thick. I used my new pizza peel, lightly floured, and slid the discs two at a time onto the baking stone in the 500F oven. Pita is without a doubt the most exciting bread you can make. The discs began to puff within seconds: the steam separates the dough which blows up like a rugby ball, forming the pita “pocket”. After 3 minutes the two pitas are slightly browned and are ready for removal. Place the rounds on a wire rack to cool. Note: you will need to gently flatten the pita while it is still warm. I simply stack the pita’s on top of each other, which does the trick.

To serve, I sliced the pita into 8 triangles per round with the hummus on the side. I also sliced fresh, ripe tomatoes and cucumbers drizzled with olive oil and vinegar. Christopher’s daughters combined to finish off the cucumbers and pita by the end of the party.

Oh yeah, we had cake and ice cream too, much to the relief of the birthday boys.

Swimming in April.

After careful consideration and a significant (maybe even excessive) exertion of energy, I decided to take a swim in the St. Croix River this weekend. First, the careful consideration: Imagine yourself bouncing playfully down a gorge in a familiar, comfortable watercraft. Now, you are in some pretty serious current, but nothing that you haven’t encountered before. As you are nearing the end of the rapids, with flat water in sight, you see a large hole with a lot of reactionary waves crashing in on each side. Do you: a) play it safe and avoid the hole (a natural, limbic response), or b) decide that the only way to really enjoy this would be to seek out this challenge and embrace it.

Now, for the sake of argument, let’s assume you chose “A”. You veer right, and avoid the hole. The folks on the bank watching you navigate the whitewater are impressed, relieved, and let’s face it, a bit envious. And they don’t even know you are an internet-famous blogstar. The sun is shining, birds are singing, pretty girls are climbing the rock faces of the gorge, in short – life is good.

And now let us examine the choice made by me. I chose “B”. Full disclosure: I am not a thrill seeker by nature, I tend to over think most situations if the truth is to be told. I am still not sure why I chose the path I did other than in the pursuit of the ‘rush’. Picture this massive, gaping hole in the river. The water, stained a pale amber, is frothing in the back and sides of the 8 foot wide section of unstable water. A 17′ kayak slices into the hole, is tossed hard to the left and the paddler tries a high brace. No dice, the boat is tossed again by a different wave, the paddler is high centered with the mid section of the boat almost completely out of the water (kind of like what happened to the Edmund Fitzgerald but on a much, much smaller scale), and he tips over sideways into the froth.

This is where the exertion comes into play.

I have taken a two day course on Eskimo rolling my kayak. In the pool I am a stud. On flat water in a warm lake, I can usually roll without a problem. In an icy river, flowing at 5700 CFM, my roll is suspect at best. So, after spending what seemed like 2 hours (more like 5 seconds) under water, I pulled the handle of my spray skirt and entered the water. At first, it wasn’t so bad. I was dressed for the occasion, and my gear kept me somewhat dry.

I have bailed from kayaks a few times before this event. My first was, appropriately, the very first time I tried kayaking. It was also in April. It was also a complete yard-sale. The rudder on my boat snapped off against a tree, I let go of my paddle. Fun. I did the same thing a year later in the Apple River. Yard-sale. Lost my paddle. Scraped my head on a few sharp rocks. The nose of my kayak was smashed and bent. Again, lots of fun. But I digress. Back to the exertion.

I think the cold was the worst part. I was dressed to stay dryish, but without insulation it didn’t matter. The cold sapped the strength right out of me. Damn, that sucked so much. I was completely unable to swim in the gear, while holding a boat and paddle, in that current. I’m just glad Blogstar was with me, or I may have needed help from the above mentioned, hot, rock climbers. Once we reached the “shore”, I had a hell of a time pulling myself onto the rock without slipping off. I was completely spent.

I realize this is a longish post, and I’ll end it soon, but there is a point to be made. Had I not tried to squeeze that last bit of fun out of the rapids, I would have stayed dry. There would have been no struggle to reach the bank of the river. Most importantly, in a few years time I would have completely forgotten that day, lost in a fog of unremarkable memories. Cesare Pavese once said, “We do not remember days, we remember moments”. I guess that’s the whole point, isn’t it? I won’t forget, or regret, the moment I made that decision to attack that hole. And I certainly will never forget the day I went on an extended swim in the frigid St. Croix River.

Mr. Wondra, ready for action.

Tonight, Crab Cakes.

I was the recipient of some Alaskan King Crab Legs this weekend, leftover from our Sunday Easter Dinner.  I cleaned the legs last night, and the total weight was just over 1/2 lb. of juicy, delicious King Crab.

I mixed the crab meat with some bread crumbs, shallots, parsley, Old Bay seasoning, mayo, and one egg.   The amounted to four 4″ diamater crab cakes that are sitting in my refrigerator right now, calling out to me:  “Nick, come home and dredge me in flour and fry me until I’m golden brown….”  Who am I to argue with the crab cakes?

Garlic Roasted Leg of Lamb

When Jessica decided that we should host an Easter dinner this year, I was predictably excited. Hosting a dinner means the meal budget is thrown out the window and I’m able to prepare whatever my little heart desires. My heart wanted to devour a cute little woolly lamb.

This was my first attempt at a leg of lamb so I went to my  old standby, Cooks Illustrated, for advice. It seems they have spent a lot of time and energy on lamb over the years. Evidently few things are as grandiose as presenting a leg of lamb for one’s guests. This grandiosity fades as soon as the lamb is carved, however. Fat, gristle, and silver skin impart a gamey taste and should be avoided if possible. My Father has  always preached the benefits of removing “tallow” and silver skin from venison when butchering deer in the fall, so I put those techniques to use on the lamb.

I started with a 13# whole leg from Van Meter’s Meats in Luck, WI. I had them remove the sirloin portion of the leg which I promptly put in the freezer. I’ll use this at a later date for my Lamb Karahi.

I needed to separate the 3 roasts in the leg, and remove all of the fat and silver skin to avoid the gaminess I mentioned earlier.

After the roasts were cleaned, I submerged them in a brine consisting of 2 quarts water, 1/4 cup Kosher salt, 1/4 cup sugar, and 12 minced garlic cloves. This was set in the refrigerator for 2 hours. While the roasts were brining, I prepared an Au Jus with the leftover lamb scraps, an onion, some white wine, chicken broth, and reserved roasted garlic paste.

After two hours, the roasts were removed, patted dry, and scored 1/4 inch deep in a diagonal pattern, about 1″ apart. A paste of roasted garlic and minced parsley was rubbed into the scored meat.

The roasts were then rolled tightly and tied with butcher’s twine…

..and seared in olive oil in a 12″ skillet.

After they lamb was browned on all sides I transferred the pan to the oven to roast at 400F for about 30 mins, until the temp reached 140F. I was pretty busy at this point with a whole chicken on the Weber for the kids, roasting beets and carrots, making garlic/olive oil mashed potatoes, as well as the lamb,  so I was unable to snap any photos of the remaining cooking process. Here is a snap of one of the roasts (we ate the other two during the course of the dinner):

As always, I’ll try to critique the dinner.

What went wrong: I over-roasted the carrots a bit. I’ll need to keep a closer eye on these smaller carrots when roasting. They tasted great, but a few of the smaller carrots scorched a bit. I think I added a little too much lemon juice to the mashed potatoes. They tasted a little different than normal.  I would like to add that lifting a 12″ skillet by the handle, bare-handed, within minutes of removal from a 400F oven is probably not the best idea.  Just saying.

What went right: The lamb was tender, juicy, and without a trace of “gaminess”. I was pleased and a bit suprised it turned out so well on my first attempt. I liked the garlic paste very much. The roasted beets and carrots were shriveled and had a lot more flavor than when steamed. My timing worked out great, everything was ready within 5 minutes time of another. The Au Jus turned out excellent.

A great easter dinner overall in my view. We drank a few bottles of wine, enjoyed great conversations with loved ones, and ate very well.

Easter Saturday Dinner

Jess and I are hosting a small easter dinner with family this Saturday. I (we) have decided on the following for the menu: Garlic roasted leg of lamb (with lamb au jus), roasted beets and carrots, and garlic/olive oil mashed potatoes. Now that I write it all down, it does seem to be a bit heavy handed with the garlic, but isn’t that why the romans, or whoever it was, invented wine?

To stray from the garlic binging, I’m grilling a 4# whole chicken for the kids, and “Grandma Andrea”  is making her delectable deviled eggs. Christopher and family are supplying the dessert, which is rumored to be a strawberry pie.

I’ll get into the specifics of the  dinner on the Catering page.  Much more to follow, along with my first attempt at posting pictures on this blog.  Bon appetit.

Welcome to my blog

I have been seduced by the darkside, so to speak, and started a blog on WordPress. Seduce is a pretty strong word, and my brother in-law is more persuasive than seductive, even if he is looking very svelte these days. So, to cut to the quick, I was persuaded to start a blog on WordPress.

I’ll say a few words about myself and then just get on with it, o.k? I’m in my thirties, married, two kids, decent job, secure, blah, blah, blah. What really starts my juices sluicing are two things: paddling kayaks and canoes and cooking. Sometimes I combine the two and nirvana is achieved. Did I mention I am unafraid of hyberbole? I didn’t? Well, I am the greatest user of hyperbole ever! See?

I’ll try to keep track of all of my paddling and cooking on this site, sprinkle in some golfing adventures (i know, yawn) and maybe even some insight on the human condition. Stop by as often as you’d like, and for god sakes leave feedback. We all crave feedback, but I crave it more than anyone on this entire planet!!

My first attempt at a curry.

Contrary to what one would assume by my lack of posting on this blog, I have been cooking from time to time. I tend to forget about this blog with all the distractions that life has to offer a man such as myself. But I digress.Here is the recipe for a lamb curry I made a few weeks ago. I didn’t take any pictures, so you’ll have to take my word that it turned out excellent. I swiped the recipe from the best food sub-forum I have found on the interwebs. Recipe courtesy of Gorilla Overlord. Thanks, GO.

I had a blast ordering spices for this recipe, and heartily recommend Penzey’s Spices for all your spice needs. So, I present to you:

Lamb Karahi Curry

250g (9oz) Ghee/Clarified Butter
3 tablespoons Fresh Coriander (chopped)
65g (2 1/2oz) Garlic
1 tablespoon Ground Turmeric
1 tablespoon Red Chilli Powder
350g (12oz) Fresh Spinach washed with large stalks removed
1 tablespoon Ground Cumin
4 medium sized Green Chillies with stalks removed
1 tablespoon Paprika
1⁄2 tablespoon Garam Masala
550g (1 1/4lb) Onions Chopped
1 x 400g (140z) Can Chopped Toms
50g (2oz) Fresh Ginger, peeled and chopped
1/2 tablespoon Salt
2lb Boneless leg or shoulder of Lamb (11⁄2 in) cubes
1 tablespoon Ground Coriander
120ml (4fl oz) water
A pinch of ground cumin and freshly ground Blek pepper to serve

When I make this, I use shoulder. It is better for braising, as it stays less dry.

Heat the ghee in a large, heavy based pan. Add the onions and cook over a medium heat, stirring now and then, for 20 minutes until they are soft and a light brown

Put the tomatoes, water, ginger and garlic into a liquidizer and blend until smooth. Remove the fried onions with a slotted spoon, leavnig the delicious fat in the pan, add them to the paste and blend briefly until smooth. You could almost eat it at this point, but let’s push on forward.

Return the puree to the ghee left in the pan and add the lamb and salt. Simmer for 30 minutes, by which time the sauce will be well reduced. Stir in the turmeric, chilli powder, cumin, paprika and ground coriander and continue to cook for until the lamb is tender, adding a little water now and then if the sauce starts to stick. This will take probably 90 minutes total cooking time, but always check the lamb regularly.

Meanwhile, put 175g (6oz) of the spinach leaves into a large pan and cook until it has wilted down into the bottom of the pan. Cook for 1 minute, then transfer to the rinsed out liquidizer and blend to a smooth puree. Set aside. Rinse out the liquidiser again and add the green chillies and 2-3 tablespoons of water and blend until smooth. Set aside.

When the lamb is cooked, there should be a layer of ghee floating on the top of the curry. Leave that shit alone – it’s pretty and tastes like highly spiced fat, which it is, which is good. Then stir in the spinach puree and the remaining spinach leaves and cook for 2 minutes.

Now taste the curry and add as much green chilli puree as you wish, according to how hot you like your curries. Simmer for 2 minutes more.

Stir in the fresh coriander and Garam Masala. Transfer the curry to a serving dish and sprinkle with a little more ground cumin and some freshly ground Blek pepper just before you take it to the table.

I served this with Basmati rice and ice cold beer. It was excellent.

Venison

This is a venison crown roast. It is very yummy.

April Showers……

…bring rivers up to flood stage. Jake (Seayak) and I (Sirocco) made our annual trip through the flooded valley of the mighty Willow River near New Richmond, WI on April 3rd. His other bro-in-law made the trip as well, his first time in a touring kayak (my 14.5 carolina). The weather was warm (50ish) but the 40 mph gusts made it seem a little cooler.

The river wasn’t as high as last year, but still flooded the river bottoms quite nicely. At some points the river, which is usually about 20-30 yards wide was over 300 yards wide. The current was very strong, especially when debris and brush blocked the way.

Chad managed to dump his boat just before we entered some decent whitewater, but was able to drag his boat to the side and empty quickly. He did a great job, and didn’t seem to impressed with us, at least at that point. He found out later in the week how difficult it is to paddle a 17′ kayak in whitewater, but that’s a tale for Jake to tell. We all made it through the raging tempest (3-4 ft waves)unscathed, but dripping water from our helmets. The water was COLD! And as usual, the trip ended too soon. I sure like that little river.

Next week: The Apple River and Little Falls, I hope.

Full weekend.

This was quite a weekend, for me at least.
Friday night was spent bowling and drinking with my good friend Cory. We ended up bowling 5 games and drinking far too many beers. I’ve been bowling at regular intervals lately, but Cory hasn’t bowled in years. Needless to say, he had the high score of the night, a 181. Not too shabby.
Saturday morning was spent trying to be tough and not show my wife I was completely hung over. The smells of frying bacon and fresh ground coffee proved to be impossible to sleep through, so up and at ‘em at 8:00 a.m. (that is still sleeping in with two kids.) We loaded up the chitlins and headed for the nearest All-Clad dealer in the area in search of new kitchen ware. We had been setting aside money for this for a while so this was exciting enough to put the hangover on the back burner. After hemming and hawing over adding a 10″ fry pan to the set, we settled on the All-Clad MC2 7 piece set. Jess bought the kids a cookie in the coffee shop next door, and we headed home to try out the new pans. After lunch (green eggs and ham) I took a leisurely 3 hour nap. Hangover cured.
I made a great dinner using the new cookware, but that will have to be a separate post.
Sunday brought sunshine and a vino induced hangover for Jess. Did I mention I made a great dinner the night before? Good food has a way of making you drink too much good wine. Anyway, we loaded up the kids, the kayak, and my guitar and headed to Jess’s sister’s house. Jake and I had a river float planned, and after the float we were to watch the 5 kids while Jess and her sister relaxed and drank coffee and spoke glowingly of their adoring husbands.
The float was a blast! We put in on the Apple River on the Church St. Bridge. The weather was nice: 37 degrees with sunshine, and almost zero wind at water level. We dressed accordingly and were extremely comfortable. Nice stretch of river with high banks, a few riffles, and hundreds of geese. We actually saw a snowmobile while kayaking, a first for both of us. I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed being back on the water after 3 months. We even managed to play in some fast water at the takeout.
After that, back to reality and dealing with cooking dinner for 5 kids and 2 ravenous kayakers.
It was the best weekend of the year, so far…..