Attaining latke nirvana

This is not quite it, the perfect latke, but it’s not bad. Easy, earthy, amiable—really, how can you ever go wrong with potato pancakes? I had taters on the brain this morning and so here is my spud experiment du jour. (The quest for the celestial continues . . . .)

Golden Latkes, v.1

• 2 cups yellow potatoes, grated
• 1/2 small onion, grated
• scant teaspoon RealSalt
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup self-rising flour
• olive oil
• lime juice
• plain yogurt
• hemp seeds

After grating the potatoes, squeeze them a small handful at a time over a sieve and get them as dry as you can (but don’t obsess). In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the potatoes, onions, salt, and eggs. Add self-rising flour and stir well. Cover a medium-hot griddle with olive oil. Make latkes as big or small as you like, but do make sure you spread and flatten out your scoops so they aren’t too thick to cook through. Brown latkes; just a few minutes each on each side should do it. Arrange latkes on plates, squeeze a little lime juice on them. Serve with a generous dollop of yogurt and sprinkle with hemp seeds. 

Chicka chicka bon bon

Thanks to Bakerella I came up with a pretty successful Mother’s Day offering this year. It was my first serious attempt at anything bon bon-like. For once in my life I didn’t deviate from the recipe, and discovered this particular formula is a dangerous combination of rich and addictive. I don’t know if this is a good or a bad thing, but oh, have I got ideas! Improvements! Experiments! I’ve already dreamed up a dozen or so variations on the theme, and none of them involve cake mixes. Scratch, baby, pure scratch.

Can you see trouble ahead for me and my guinea pigs? Guess I’d better watch it with the bon bons, or we’ll all end up roly poly.

Take it away, Jim . . .

Mediterranean Miracle Sandwich

Do you ever panic about food? I do. Today was the kind of day that sets you way behind a healthy schedule; work makes extra demands and before you know it, it’s two . . . three . . . four hours beyond your usual lunchtime, and you’ve got nothing prepared, no ideas, and what’s worse, no groceries because you’ve been too busy to go shopping. 

So there I stood, holding the fridge door open way too long, letting all the cold air out, waiting for a revelation. A bunch of parsley? Useless. A big purple eggplant? Takes too long to prepare. Eggs? Had them for breakfast. Bread? Maybe, but there’s nothing to put on it. An old tired turnip? Last winter’s butternut squash, now depressed by spring? The brown botulism from the back corner of the middle shelf? 

Ground lamb! Now there’s the ticket! I formed it into patties and optimistically broke out the cast iron, but without a clear plan. Uh-oh. While the meat cooked I wrung my hands and stared into the fridge some more. And it finally came, the inspiration. Here it is, and it actually turned out to be the most enjoyable emergency invention I’ve et in a long time. Hoob, my amused lunch companion agreed. Try it; you’ll like it too. 

LAMB (ground, not grilled)

FETA CHEESE, sliced thin

leftover BRUSSELS SPROUTS (I’m not kidding), cooked, cold, sliced

MUSTARD

BREAD, brown

Making a salad, making a start

Welcome to Pizza Dreams! This blog is devoted to two of my favorite pastimes, eating and sleeping, and the place where they frequently meet for colorful wrestling matches: in dreams. Hopefully what gets posted here will whet your appetite for trying new foods and exploring your own nightly short stories. Please feel free to comment and share your triumphs in the kitchen and your (family-friendly) adventures in Slumberland.

Yesterday my husband and I shared a very simple, very flavorful midday meal, and the two recipes I debuted seem like a proper start for this blog. Hope you’ll try them and like them, or find some new ways to adapt them to your taste.

The first recipe evolved from a suggestion I read once about adding toasted  sesame seeds to peanut butter. I do it occasionally, and with the addition of a little honey, it’s really quite elegant, if you can believe that. I make some version of it whenever peanut butter begins to seem a little homely all by itself.

The second recipe was inspired by this post from my lovely friend Mirjam, who is an excellent cook. I was smitten by her gorgeously oranged photo and decided to make her salad right away. Trouble was, I didn’t have one of the two main ingredients. So, true to my nature, I improvised. What I came up with was a new salad altogether, a cousin to Mirjam’s but with a sure family resemblance.  I think you should try hers and mine. 

Seedy Nut Sandwich Butter

• all-natural creamy peanut butter (Adam’s is a good choice)
• raw sesame seeds
• raw sunflower seeds
• golden flax seeds
• honey

Scoop into a small bowl as much peanut butter as you think you and any lunch companions will need for your sandwiches. In a small cast iron pan over medium-low heat, toast (without oil or butter) sesame, flax, and sunflower seeds, stirring frequently and watching closely so they don’t burn. How much you use and how long you toast them is up to you and worthy of experimentation. When they look and smell appetizing, add them to the peanut butter, drizzle on a little honey, and stir together. Taste. Add more honey if your sweet tooth is begging for it. Spread on bread and concentrate on the nice little crunch you’ve created. Yummy!

Carrot Jicama Salad

• carrot, grated
• jicama, peeled and sliced into tiny sticks and shreds
• fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
• lemon juice
• canola oil
• honey
• pinch of nutmeg, powdered or freshly grated if possible
• dash of sea salt

Basically, focus on your carrots and jicama, add as much fresh ginger as you can handle, toss, then simply dress to taste with lemon juice, oil, honey, nutmeg, and salt. Toss again. Eat and cry for joy.