Beet and Kale (in a Greek style) Pockets

The Goods**:

3 medium-sized beets

1/2 bunch kale

2 portabello mushrooms

1 shallot

4 cloves garlic

1 bunch dill

3-4 tbsp Greek yogurt*

3 pita bread pockets

Cut the tops off of the beets and add to a pot of salted, boiling water. Boil for 20-30 minutes or until cooked. Drain the beets and let them cool. When they have cooled, peel off the skin and set them aside.

Dice the washed portabello caps into small cubes. Finely dice the shallot. Tear the kale leaves away from the tough stem into bite-sized pieces. Finely mince the dill and garlic, separately. Add some olive oil to a skillet on medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper. When they have browned, lower the heat and add the shallots. If the mushrooms have soaked up all of the oil, add a dash more. When the shallots are translucent, add half of the garlic. After about a minute, add the kale pieces. As the kale is wilting, grate the beets into the pan using a box grater.

Preheat the oven to 350 F and warm the pita bread for 3-4 minutes. When the kale appears cooked, roughly 5 minutes after adding to the pan, turn off the heat. Add the remainder of the garlic and the yogurt. Add the yogurt one tablespoon at a time and mix thoroughly. Add yogurt until the magenta, paste-like substance has a pleasing consistency.

Spoon the mixture into the warmed, halved pita bread and serve immediately.

*I really dig Fage brand Greek yogurt. Usually, when eating yogurt just for the purpose of eating yogurt, I have the full fat stuff with some honey. In this case, I went with 2% to keep it lighter.

**I would definitely try adding some feta to this concoction in the future.

Pork and Mushroom Onigri

The Goods*:

2 0.5 lb center-cut boneless pork chops

1 handful shitake mushrooms

1 handful crimini mushrooms

4 green onions

1 garlic clove

6 sheets nori (dried seaweed paper)

1.5 cups sushi rice

2 tsp rice wine vinegar

Marinade

1 small bunch fresh cilantro

4 cloves garlic

1/2" piece fresh ginger

1 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp ponzu sauce

1 tbsp rice wine vinegar

2 tbsp peanut oil**

2 green onions

Start by placing the garlic cloves and cilantro (trimmed of large stems) in a food processor. Blend until the garlic and cilantro is very finely chopped. Add the soy sauce, ponzu sauce, and vinegar. Blend once more. Grate the ginger over the mixture. Finally, while blending, slowly spoon in the oil. Slice the white portion of the green onions into fine ringlets. Slice the pork as thinly as possible, while trying to keep an even thickness between pieces. Place the pork, green onions, and food processor liquid into a plastic bag and refrigerate for two hours.

Cook the rice with the rice wine vinegar.

Slice the mushrooms into quarters or eighths, depending on the size. Add a generous amount of your favorite fat (I used some rendered duck fat from Savenor's. Anything should work; but I'd avoid the easy-burning fats like EVOO) to a wok and set to high heat. When the fat is hot, add the mushrooms. After the mushrooms have softened, dump the meat and marinade into the wok. Stir fry until the meat is cooked, about 4-5 minutes.

Assemble packages (think seaweed burritos***) with the nori sheets, rice, and meat/mushroom mixture. Serve immediately.

*Yeah, I haven't been able to post in a while. I spent a large chunk of the summer on sojourn (read: short-term slave labor junket) in China for work. China, for those not aware, assiduously sensors the internet, locking sites such as Blogger (and Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, etc.) behind their "Great Firewall".

**For those preferring a bit more heat, a lightly-infused-with-chili peanut oil can be used here.

***Onigiri is a favorite from the Japanese market in Porter square that closed a year or two ago. It looks like this. In retrospect, I'd recommend chilling the rice and meat before assembly, as the seaweed seems to get tougher when warm.

Moroccan spiced beets with whipped goat cheese

The Goods*:

6 medium/small candy striped beets [CSA!]

3 tsp lemon juice

1 1/2 tsp honey

1 1/2 tsp harissa

1 small shallot

1 clove garlic

3 tbsp olive oil

Whipped Goat Cheese

6 oz. soft goat cheese

1/4 cup marcona almonds

1/4 cup dried apricot

1/4 cup scallion [CSA!]

Finely mince the scallon and roughly chop the apricot and almonds. In an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the goat cheese until it is creamy. Add the scallions, apricot, almonds, and salt and pepper and continue to mix until blended.

Boil the beets in a large pot of salted water for about 15 minutes, or until they are soft. Drain the beets and when they are cool, peel the skin. Slice the beets into thin, 1/2 cm slices**. Finely mince the shallot and garlic. In a large mixing bowl, add the garlic, shallot, lemon juice, honey, and harissa. Slowly whisk in the olive oil.

Arrange the beets in a single layer on the plate and drizzle the lemon dressing over them. Crumble the whipped goat cheese over the beets. Garnish with some chopped flat leaf parsley.

*I've recently begun to receive weekly boxes of fresh, local vegetables through my CSA with Sienna Farms. Sienna supplies wonderful Cambridge eatery Oleana with all of their produce. This preparation was adapted from a recipe courtesy of Oleana chef/owner Ana Sortun (apparently CSA membership with Sienna also entitles one to delicious Oleana recipes).

**This would be much easier on a mandolin. Note to self, buy a mandolin.

Wild cod en persillade

The Goods*:

2 lb frozen wild cod fillets

1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 cup sesame seeds

2 tbsp fresh oregano

1/4 cup sumac

2 tbsp canola/sunflower oil

2 tbsp country dijon mustard

Brine**

2 kg water

100 g kosher salt

25 g table sugar

Prepare the brine. Add the frozen fish to the brine and let sit in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours. After brining, rinse the now (hopefully) defrosted fillets under cold water.

Place the olive oil in a heavy skillet and set to medium-low heat. When the oil is hot, add the panko. Cook for a few minutes, until the bread crumbs begin to brown. Add the sesame seeds and cook for about a minute longer. Finely mince the oregano. Add the cooled panko/sesame mixture to a mixing bowl with the minced oregano and sumac. Thoroughly mix.

Preheat the oven to 325 F. Cut the cod fillets into 6 total chunks. Set up three bowls, one with water, mustard, and the breading. Dip a kitchen brush in the water, then the mustard so that it spreads easier. Place a layer of mustard on top of one of the fillet pieces, then place this side down into the breading. Shake off the excess. Repeat until all of the cod is breaded on one side. In a heavy skillet, add the canola oil and place on high heat. Just as the oil begins to smoke, lower to medium-low. Brown the cod pieces, breading side down, for one minute. Be sure to spread the pieces out (I had to do this process in two batches) so the are not touching. After browning for one minute, place in the oven and bake at 325 for 8-9 minutes, or until the meat flakes with a fork.

*Recently, our company went on a cod fishing trip. I was one of the fortunate (read: highly inept) individuals unable to bag a single cod. My boss, an avid fisherman, went on the very same cod boat the next week and maxed on his legal limit of cod. Feeling bad, he froze a couple of fillets for me. This recipe is adapted from Keller's Ad Hoc At Home, with thanks to CSA Chef sponsor (more on this later) Ana Sortun.

**I used a brine primarily to thaw the fish. It was brined for ~1.5 hours and not further seasoned.

Potato salad

The Goods*:

1.5 lb bag mixed (yukon gold, red bliss, and purple) small potatoes

1/2 homemade aioli**

1 tbsp country dijon mustard

1 tbsp yellow mustard seeds

1/2 cup fresh dill

1/2 cup daikon

Homemade Aioli

1/2 cup olive oil

1 egg yolk

1 small clove garlic

1 tsp lime juice

1/2 tsp water

1/4 tsp kosher salt

Finely mince the garlic clove. Take care to remove the green stalk in the middle of the clove. Add the garlic, lime juice, salt, and water to a medium size bowl. Allow the garlic to steep in the liquid for five minutes or so. Add the egg yolk. Whisk the yolk together with the water and lime juice. Slowly pour the oil into the mixture while continuously whisking. The mixture should thicken as more oil is added and have a creamy texture when all of the oil has been added.

Place the potatoes in a medium saucepan, cover with water, and set on high heat to boil. Once the water is boiling, lower the heat and simmer the potatoes for 10-15 minutes, or until they just become fork tender. Drain the potatoes in a colander. Place the potatoes back in the saucepan, off the heat, and cover with a dish towel to allow them to steam for 10 minutes or so.

Cut the potatoes into halves or fourths depending on the size. Place the cut potatoes in a large mixing bowl and season generously with ground black pepper and kosher salt. Coarsely grind the mustard seeds in a mortar and chop the dill. Slice the daikon into ~1 cm sections. Add the mustard, mustard seeds, dill, daikon, and aioli to the potatoes. Mix by hand, then chill and serve.

*Wow, its been a while between posts. I actually made this over a week ago, but I'm resolved to jot it down now so it is not lost. I typically do not love potato salad, mostly because I recoil at the thought of mayonnaise. But, with small potatoes and dill on hand, something had to be done. I adapted the recipe from Ina "Use Good Mayonnaise" Garten.

**Yeah, I can like mayonnaise if its called aioli. Seriously, homemade mayonnaise is nothing like that Hellmann's nonsense. Oh and the difference between mayonnaise and aioli, per Ruhlman, is that olive oil as the oil and minced garlic.

Banana brulee

The Goods:

1 banana

white sugar*

1 pint burnt sugar ice cream**

Peel the banana. Slice in half lengthwise, then slice each half once more, to make four pieces. Wrap aluminum foil around a plate and place the banana slices on the plate, flat side up. Dust the banana pieces with sugar and shake off the excess. Work the propane flame slowly over each banana piece until the sugar melts and browns. Serve each immediately with a scoop of ice cream.

*I've tried this with brown sugar and it turns black and starts to smoke before getting brown and melt-y.

**Christina's Ice Cream in Inman Square. Go there. Eat this ice cream.

***All photos by Gwen Tuxbury.

Red braised pork belly

The Goods*:

1 1/2 lb fresh, boneless pork belly with skin

2 in piece of fresh ginger, with skin

2 scallions

3 dried chili peppers (omit for less fire)

3 tbsp peanut oil

2 cups chicken stock**

1 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine

1 tsp kosher salt

3 tbsp brown sugar

1/2 star anise (4 segments)

Fill a large stockpot three-quarters with water. Set on high heat to boil. When the water is boiling, add the pork belly. Boil for 2 to 3 minutes, then remove and wash under cold tap water. Drain the water from the pot and dry thoroughly. Cut the pork belly into 2 to 3 inch chunks. Try to include a layer of skin, meat, and fat in each chunk. Crush the ginger with the back of a knife. Slice the scallions roughly into 3 or 4 sections (green and white portions).

Place the peanut oil in the dried stockpot and set on medium-high heat. Just before the oil begins to smoke, add the pork and stir fry for a couple of minutes. Add the remaining ingredients.

Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce to a low simmer. Simmer for 2 hours, or until the meat is tender. Be sure to keep the pork chunks covered; add a bit more stock if the level drops too much***.

*This is another recipe from Fuchsia Dunlop's Sichuanese cookbook Land of Plenty.

**I cracked and bought prepared stock, but felt less bad as it was from Savenor's. Needless to say, if one has the time and the chicken parts, make the stock at home.

***The liquid will reduce quite a bit, but depending on the size of the chunks and the dimensions of the stockpot, the starting liquid amount may not be enough to completely submerge all of the pork. Also, it might be a good idea to reduce the liquid after cooking to make a thicker sauce.

Ginger lime grilled chicken

The Goods*:

3 medium sized chicken thighs

Brine

2 kg warm tap water

100 grams kosher salt

25 grams sugar

2 bay leaves

6 cloves garlic

Ginger Lime Rub

1/2 stick butter

1 black cardamom pod

1 lime

14 grams ginger**

5 cloves garlic

1 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp toasted sesame oil

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp AP flour

1/4 tsp ground cardamom

Prepare the brine in large container. Add the chicken thighs to the brine and weight them down with a small plate. Refrigerate for about three hours.

Place the butter in a small saucepan on low heat. Smash the black cardamom pod with the back of a chef's knife. Add the cardamom pod to the butter. Cook on low heat for about 15 minutes, or until the milk solids in the bottom of the pan begin to brown, but not burn. Strain the butter through a wire mesh strainer into a bowl and set aside.

Slice the tops off from the garlic cloves. Stand up in a small aluminum foil package, drizzle with some olive oil, and bake at 400 F for half an hour to roast the garlic cloves.

Grate the ginger on a microplane. Add to the butter. Zest the lime, slice it in half, and juice into a measuring cup. Add the lime zest and juice to the butter. Remove the garlic from the aluminum foil and finely mince the garlic cloves. Add the remaining rub ingredients to the butter. Mix throughly. The rub should have the consistency of peanut butter.

Remove the chicken from the brine. Rinse thoroughly under cold water and pat dry with a paper towel. By hand, slather some rub under the skin and all around the top and bottom of each thigh.

Preheat the grill by turning the burners on high. Grill the chicken, skin side down, over high flame for 2-3 minutes. Turn over, reduce the flame to low, and grill, covered, for 13-15 minutes, depending on individual chicken-doneness-preference. Allow the chicken to rest for 10 minutes, then serve.

*This was an interpretation of a another recipe.

**I've found that keeping ginger is a huge pain. Typically, I'll use a bit of one root, store it in the fridge, and then go to use it again only to find that it has spoiled. This problem was compounded when I purchased a whole sack of ginger from the Super 88 recently. I decided to freeze the ginger roots to preserve them longer. This, unfortunately, creates a new problem of how to use the ginger. I discovered that, once one end of the root is cut off, the microplane works wonders on the ginger. The resulting grated ginger has the appearance and texture of finely packed snow. I've provided a weight measurement because the stuff is fluffy, but its about a tablespoon.

Fiddlehead salad

The Goods*:

1/2 lb fiddleheads

2 tsp olive oil

1 tsp toasted sesame oil

1 tsp rice wine vinegar

1 small garlic clove

1/2 tsp soy sauce

1/4 tsp country dijon mustard

Fill a medium saucepan three quarters full with water. Place on high heat to boil. Rinse the fiddleheads under cold tap water. Fill a large bowl with water and 10 to 12 ice cubes. When the water comes to a boil, add the fiddleheads. Boil for five minutes**. Remove from the water with a spider strainer and place in the ice bath. Remove the fiddleheads from the ice bath and dry throughly with a paper towel or salad spinner. Place in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and chill for at least half an hour.

Finely chop the garlic. In a small bowl, add the oils, winvegar, garlic, soy sauce, mustard, and a bit of ground black pepper. Throughly whisk until the dressing comes together. Toss with the chilled fiddleheads and serve immediately.

*One knows that spring has sprung in New England when fiddleheads begin to appear in the market. This is my first take on fiddleheads served cold.

**Normally, this would just be one step in a typical blanching process, but fiddleheads are tricky fellows. It is important to boil them to leach out certain bad things (toxins, tannins, etc.). One will notice that the water, after boiling, turns a lovely shade of brown.

Spinach and sage roasted chicken

The Goods:

Roasted Chicken

1 large skin on chicken breast

1 tbsp fresh sage

2 handfuls fresh spinach

1 shallot

1 splash white wine

2 tbsp butter

1 tbsp flour

1 tsp lemon juice

1 cup water

olive oil

Israeli Couscous

1 cup Israeli couscous*

2 cup water

1 tbsp sage

1 tsp lemon juice

1 small leek

1 tsp fresh parsley

1 clove garlic

Preheat the oven to 450 F. Add the butter to a small saucepan. Heat on medium-low heat for 10-15 minutes, or until the butter browns. Pour most of the brown butter into a small bowl, keep the remainder (1/4 or so of the total) in the saucepan. Trim the green portion from the leek. Slice the remainder in half lengthwise, then in ~1 cm slices. Finely mince the garlic. Finely mince the sage and parsley. Place the saucepan with the remaining brown butter on medium-low heat. Add the leeks. Cook until they're translucent, about 5 minutes or so. Add the 1 tablespoon sage, parsley, and garlic. Cook for 1-2 more minutes. Add the couscous, water, and lemon juice. Cover. When the pot reaches a simmer, reduce the heat to low and cook until the water has been fully absorbed.

Spritz some olive oil on the chicken breast and season it with ground black pepper and kosher salt. Spritz some olive oil in a heavy-bottomed, oven-proof skillet and set on medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the breast skin-side down. After three minutes, flip the breast over and transfer the pan to the oven. Bake at 450 for 15 minutes**. Finely mince the shallot. Wash and dry the spinach leaves. Add the flour to the set aside brown butter to make a paste.

When the chicken is cooked, remove the pan from the oven and place on the stove top. Place the chicken in a plate and cover with tin foil until ready to serve. Place the skillet on medium-low heat and add the minced shallots. When the shallots have turned translucent, about 2-3 minutes, add the tablespoon of sage and spinach leaves. Continue cooking until the spinach wilts. Deglaze the pan with a splash of white wine. Add the water and lemon juice. When the mixture begins to simmer, fold in the brown butter/flour paste to thicken the sauce. Split the chicken breast in half. Serve with couscous, covered in spinach/sage sauce.

*Or, more politically correct, as the local WF plays it, "Middle Eastern Couscous."

**I've long been experimenting with different oven temperatures and baking times when making roasted chicken breast. This one gave fine results, with a rather large breast that was just, just, just rare in the very center.

Brown butter and sage pasta

The Goods*:

4 tbsp butter

1 handful fresh sage leaves

1 lemon's zest

parmesan cheese

1/2 lb fresh pasta

The sauce can be made while the water for the pasta is boiling, or a bit ahead of time. Place the butter in a small saucepan on medium-low heat. After the butter melts, semi-continuously stir it, to keep it from burning. Trim the stems from the sage leaves. Slice the sage leaves into long, thin strips. Finely mince the lemon zest. After a few minutes, the milk proteins will begin to brown. Once the butter has browned, but before it burns, turn off the heat. The brown butter should have a slightly nutty aroma. Add the sage and lemon zest, then set cover and set aside.

Once the pasta has been drained, toss with the brown butter mixture. Top with grated parmesan cheese and serve immediately.

*I am really getting into fresh pasta. The more I make it, the more I realize that its really not such an ordeal.

PS: The start of baseball season is not conducive to blogging about interesting things I've cooked.

Lemon pesto

The Goods*:

2 cups fresh basil

1/4 cup pine nuts**

2/3 cup olive oil

1 lemon's worth of lemon zest

parmesan cheese

1 lb Dave's Fresh Pasta Asparagus and Lemon Raviolis

Place the pine nuts in a skillet on medium heat. Toast until just after they brown. Remove from the heat and set aside. Remove the basil leaves from the stems and give them a rough chop. Add the basil, pine nuts, lemon zest, a healthy pinch of kosher salt, and some ground black pepper to the food processor (or, if you're like me, a blender). Pulse twice at low speed. Slowly add the oil while pulsing the at low speed. Continue blending/processing until the ingredients are well incorporated.

Cook one's pasta/ravioli per box/vendor instructions. After draining, toss the pasta with the pesto and top liberally with grated parmesan cheese.

*Pesto is one of those things, that to me, exists in this abstract kind of "Why in the world would I ever pay for that when I can make it?" way. Of course, one has to get to the business of actually MAKING said dish. This past week, in what can only be described as fully blown serendipity, I spied one of those large plastic containers full of basil in the produce section at WF. Sadly, there is no magic ratio courtesy of Michael Ruhlman. I did a quick web search for basic pesto recipes, but found nothing terribly consistent, so here goes my half-assed kitchen cobbling...

**Be sure to avoid these pine nuts.

Kafta kabob

The Goods*:

1/2 lb ground lamb

1 large handful fresh parsley

1 large shallot

2 cloves garlic

1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp ground coriander

Finely mince the garlic, parsley, and shallot. Add the lamb, parsley, garlic, shallot, and spices to a large mixing bowl. Mix up the ingredients by hand. Cover the bowl in plastic wrap and allow it to rest in the refrigerator for at least half an hour.

Shape the meat into approximately 1" diameter tubes around a skewer. Grill for 2-3 minutes per side, or to individual preference. Serve with rice and salad**.

*Kafta is my go-to once I get to know a Lebanese-style restaurant (read: start with the falafel). Ground lamb looked appealing this week at the local WF (as in, it was on sale), so I figured to give this a go. Going outside to grill is another bonus, as its been appallingly nice in New England lately.

**Or, if you have more ambition than I, with other middle eastern favorites such as hummus or tabouli.

Dressed up Annie's #4 (new for spring!)

The Goods:

1 box Annie's Mac and Cheese

1 spring onion

10-12 basil leaves

1 clove garlic

1 large handful fresh parsley

1/4 cup aged gouda

parmesan cheese

Place a medium sauce pan three-quarters full of water on high heat. Spritz some olive oil in a sauté pan and set on medium low heat. Slice the spring onion (including the green parts) in 1 cm thick slices. Finely mince the garlic and parsley. Cut the basil leaves lengthwise into thin strips. When the oil is hot, add the onions. Cook on medium-low heat for a few minutes, until the onions begin to soften. Add the parsley, garlic, and basil and cook for another minute or so. Add a splash of water from the pasta sauce pan to deglaze.

Cook the Annie's per the box directions. Finely dice the gouda. When the pasta is cooked, add 2 tablespoons of milk, one small pad of butter, the cheese mix, the diced gouda, a few grates of parmesan, and the vegetables. Mix thoroughly. Serve with some chopped parsley and a few more grates of parmesan on top. Pair with a green salad.

Korean fusion dan dan noodles

The Goods*:

1/4 lb ground pork

1 handful Asian rice noodles

1 cup kimchi**

2 tbsp peanut oil

1 tbsp chili oil (as seen here, or you know, buy some)

1 tsp toasted, ground Sichuan pepper***

3 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp Shaoxing rice wine****

Prepare the rice noodles according to the package directions. Drain and set aside.

Place 1 tablespoon of the peanut oil in a wok on high heat. When the oil is hot, add the kimchi. Stir fry for about 30 seconds. Remove from the heat and place the kimchi in a large bowl. Add the other tablespoon of oil to the wok and place back on high heat. Add the ground pork. Once the pork starts to separate and has started to brown, add the wine and 1 tsp of the soy sauce. Once the pork is cooked, though not dried out, about 3-4 minutes, remove from the heat and add to the kimchi. Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl and toss with the noodles. Serve immediately.

*I recently finished reading Shark's Fin and Sichuan Pepper, a food/travel memoir by Fuchsia Dunlop, which I'd recommend if you're into food and/or travel writing, though I'd have to say her reserved British style is a marked contrast from the booze-fueled mayhem of Bourdain. My curiosity was such that I had to race out and purchase Land of Plenty, her Sichuanese cookbook. Needless to say, I'll be trying my hand at some of these recipes in the near future.

**The recipe calls for Ya Cai pickled vegetables and I have cleverly inserted kimchi. I purchased what I THINK are Ya Cai pickled vegetables from the Super 88, but I have no way of fully knowing, as every character on the jar is Chinese. Anyway, this allows me to use some of that glass vat of kimchi chilling in the refrigerator.

***Sichuan peppercorns are a really interesting ingredient. They have a lemony, coriander-like taste and leave the tongue almost completely numb in the aftertaste. I have no idea how available they are; I found mine at Christina's in Cambridge. Dunlop recommends toasting a batch (6 tablespoons at a time) in a dry wok for about 5 minutes and then grinding the peppercorns in a mortar. I would also recommend bumping this down to 1/2 a teaspoon, that is until one is fully adapted to the taste (read: face numbing).

****Here's another fun Chinese ingredient. Imagine sake if soy sauce had a slightly boozier love child.

Kimchi Redux

This is an update* to a previous post.

Substitutions/Additions

• I swapped out the tablespoon of fish sauce for another tablespoon of rice wine vinegar. I'm kind of in love with rice wine vinegar right now. Also, I felt like the original batch of kimchi was a tad too fishy (from all that fish sauce!).
• I finally located Korean red pepper**, so I decided to jumble up the hot stuff. I went with 1/4 cup of the Korean pepper and 1 tablespoon of Sriracha sauce. I'm not entirely sure which version came out hotter, though the previous version definitely had more "late" heat than this one (probably owing to the small Thai chilis. Those bastards are sneaky.)

How did it work?

I was a little worried that the first batch wasn't fermenting hard enough. I decided to wait for this one to start rocking before moving it into the fridge, even if it meant going to 3-4 days of closet-fermentation. As it turned out, the thing was ripping along at 2 days flat, so I transfered it to the fridge at that point.

I've only had a taste of this batch, but so far so good. I'm hoping to integrate the kimchi into some cooked dishes, so we'll see how that works. I'm still missing that "electric" sort of tingle that comes off of really good kimchi (like at Koreana, for instance). I'm not entirely sure how one gets the electric taste, but I'm open to suggestions (Longer fermentation? More daikon? Magic beans?).

*I swung by the Super 88 grocery store in Allston to gather some ingredients for another project (details forthcoming, I promise). I couldn't help but notice their giant, incredibly cheap heads of Napa cabbage. I also managed to find the largest daikon radish I've ever seen. Seriously.

**Another sweet find at the Super 88!

Sunchokes are delicious

The Goods:

Oven Roasted Sunchokes

1 dozen sunchokes (aka: Jerusalem artichokes)

1 garlic clove

1 small (~1") piece of fresh ginger

2 tbsp fresh fennel

olive oil

Kale/Mushrooms

1 bunch lacinto kale

1 large portabella mushroom cap

1 large shallot

1/2 cup vegetable stock

olive oil

Preheat the oven to 425 F. Wash, dry, and slice the sunchokes into quarters. Trim the skin and finely mince the ginger. Repeat for the garlic. Mince the fresh fennel. Drizzle some olive oil on a pyrex baking dish. Add the sunchokes, ginger, garlic, and fennel to the baking dish. Season with kosher salt and ground black pepper. Drizzle some more olive oil over the sunchokes. Mix the contents of the dish by hand. Bake the sunchokes at 425 for half an hour.

Place about a tablespoon of olive oil in a heavy sauté pan and set on medium-high heat. Wash and dry the mushroom cap. Slice the mushroom into 1 cm thick slices. Place the slices in the sauté pan. Let the slices cook for about 2 minutes for side on medium-high heat without disturbing*. Remove the skin from the shallot. Slice in half, then slice each half into thin slices. Turn the heat down to medium-low and add the shallots. Season with kosher salt and ground black pepper. At this point, another spritz of olive oil may be required, because the large mushroom pieces act like oil sponges in the pan. Cook until the shallots are translucent. Slice the kale bunch at roughly 3" intervals. Discard the stems at the base of the bunch. When the shallots are translucent, add the kale to the pan. Turn the heat up to medium and add the stock. Cover and cook for about 10 minutes, or until the kale has just wilted.

Serve with the mushrooms and kale over Israeli couscous, with the oven roasted sunchokes on the side.

*I probably should have used clarified butter here, but I'm all out of it. In theory, searing with olive oil is verboten because olive oil has such a low smoke point. Of course, I wasn't searing with some serious, balls-to-the-wall heat in this case and the oil did not actually smoke, but it's something to keep in mind.

Garlic soup

The Goods*:

4 cloves garlic

2 cups vegetable stock

2 large leaves lacinto kale

1 egg

3 tbsp orzo

1 tsp olive oil

grated parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Place three cloves of garlic, with the skin still on, in a small pyrex container in the oven for 15 minutes to roast. Finely mince the remaining clove of garlic. Remove the the skins from the roasted garlic and finely mince them as well.

Place the stock in a small saucepan on medium heat. When it comes to a simmer, add the garlic. Cook the garlic for five minutes in the stock. Roughly chop the kale. After five minutes, add the kale, olive oil, and orzo to the pan. Cook for 8 or so minutes, until the pasta is al dente. Break the egg in a small bowl. Add some fresh ground black pepper to the egg, ladle some stock in, and thoroughly beat the mixture. It is important to add the hot stock to temper the egg, so it does not instantly scramble when added to the soup. When the pasta has cooked, remove the pan from the heat. Slowly pour in the egg. Top with grated parmesan cheese and serve immediately.

*My random wandering on the NY Times website brought me to this recipe a few days ago. I thought that it might be better to start from stock instead of water (spoiler alert: It was). Also, I went with more garlic, because one can never get enough garlic.

Fun with kale and quinoa

The Goods:

1 large bunch green kale

1/2 dozen medium crimini mushrooms

1 chicken sausage link (~ 1/3 lb)

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 cup quinoa

1 tbsp clarified butter

Marsala Morels

1 dozen fresh morels*

1 small shallot

1 handful fresh parsley

1 tsp butter

1 generous splash Marsala wine

Trim the ends of the stems from the morels. Place them in a bowl of warm water to wash the dirt from the mushrooms. Repeat as necessary until the water runs clear**. Finely mince the shallot, then the parsley. Place the tsp of butter in a heavy sauté pan and set to medium heat. Add the shallots and cook for two minutes, or until translucent. Add the parsley and deglaze the pan with the Marsala wine. Allow some of the alcohol to cook off, about a minute or two, then add the morels***. Cook the mushrooms for three to four minutes, or until they're soft. Place in a small bowl and set aside.

Combine the quinoa and 2 cups of water in a small saucepan. Add a spritz of olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and set to high heat to boil. When the mixture comes to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for ~20 minutes, or until all of the water is absorbed.

Spritz some olive oil in a heavy sauté pan and set on medium-high heat. Remove the sausage from its casing and add to the pan. Cook until the meat is mostly browned. Remove the meat from the pan and set to the side. Wash, dry, and thinly slice the crimini's. Tear the kale from the stems into bite sizes leafy pieces. Place the clarified butter in the sausage pan and heat to medium. Add the mushrooms and cook until they have browned. Place the sausage back in the pan, along with the kale, lemon juice, and 1/2 cup water. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, covered, until the kale just wilts. Toss the quinoa and morels together with the kale mixture. Serve immediately.

*I've been on the lookout for morels since I saw a version of this preparation in Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc, which, is a beautiful cookbook. I was skeptical when Keller, he of French Laundry and Bouchon fame, announced in the introduction that this book was meant to be a down-home collection of simpler recipes (it turns out they're a wee bit more complex than "easy," but definitely not rocket science. ANYWAY, I finally spotted fresh morels at WF, but could only commit to a handful because I had no idea if I'd enjoy them and they are not cheap.

**I would recommend erring on the side of caution here. Usually when I see something like this, I tend to think that one thorough wash is good enough. Unfortunately, some of the morels were still a bit sandy. They're actually kind of hollow, so I can see dirt building up on the side. So yeah, wash 'em good.

***This would seem to contradict all of my mushroom cookery experience that says to sear mushrooms. But, when the prophet Keller says they're best cooked gently in butter, I tend to abide.

Shallot and raclette cheeseburgers

The Goods*:

1 lb 85% lean ground beef**

2 Iggy's brand brioche buns

1 tsp clarified butter

1 shallot

1 handful fresh parsley

1 generous pour Marsala wine

6 1" x 3" slices Raclette cheese***

In a heavy sauté pan, heat the clarified butter on medium-high heat. Trim the ends from the shallot, slice it length-wise, and remove the skin. Thinly slice each shallot half. Finely mince the handful of fresh parsley. When the butter is hot, cook the shallots for a few minutes. They should cook beyond translucence into a brown color, but not burn. When the shallots are cooked, add the minced parsley. Deglaze the pan with the wine. Remove from the heat, place in a small bowl, and refrigerate covered in plastic wrap.

When the shallots are fully chilled, combine them with the ground beef in a large bowl. Season generously with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. Incorporate the shallots into the ground beef with your hands; try not to over work the meat. Shape the meat into two patties, roughly 3/4" to 1" thick.

Set one portion of the grill to medium-high heat and the other portion to medium heat. Place the patties on medium high heat. Cook without moving for three minutes. Turn the patties 90 degrees (to achieve that brilliant grill mark cross-hatching), and cook without touching for three additional minutes. Flip the patties and transfer to the medium heat zone. Cook for five minutes. Slice the rolls in half and place them on the top rack over the medium heat zone to toast. Turn the patties 90 degrees. Place three slices of Raclette on each patty and cook for five more minutes. Remove the buns and patties from the grill. Allow the meat to rest for at least 10 minutes.

One may assemble the burger with any condiments/accessories one desires. I spread a thin layer of dijon mustard on the lower patty, added the burger, then stacked a few slices of yellow onion and some spring greens. Serve with roasted red potatoes and a green salad.

*It feels good to be cooking again. Last week/weekend were highly disruptive to the natural cooking rhythm (read: drunken). The combination of warm weather and my roomate's lovely gas grill sent visions of charred meats dancing in my head. Sorry, there will be pictures next time. I promise.

**I'm a firm believer that one needs some fat in the meat to retain some moisture in the finished burger. After seeing Alton's show about hamburgers and reading the Keller treatise on beef patties, I really wanted to have the butcher grind me a choice blend of sirloin, chuck, etc. Sadly, my local WF butcher informed me that they can only do that for orders of 5 lbs or more. This makes sense, I mean, they're dealing with industrial-style meat grinders. I suppose its time to invest in the KitchenAid meat grinder attachment...

***Raclette is amazing. I've found that fancy and/or delicious cheese that I discover never seem to have very good melting properties. Enter Raclette. The one down-side is that the cheese is too soft to cut very thinly, so I got by with three rectangular slices per burger.

Dumpling dipping sauce

The Goods*:

1 tbsp soy sauce**

1 tsp rice wine vinegar

1/2 tsp finely chopped ginger (about 1/2 inch fresh ginger)

1 clove garlic

1/4 tsp toasted sesame oil

Peel and finely chop the ginger. Remove the skin from the garlic clove and finely mince it. Combine the ingredients in a small bowl and whisk.

*TJ's has a lovely selection of various Asian dumplings in their excellent freezer section. This is a dipping sauce made to go with the Chinese Chicken Pot Stickers. I try to make the trek to TJ's once every few months to stock up on non-perishable deliciousness and, by the way, not a whole lot else, because damn, their produce selection is weak.

**All soy sauces are not created equal (obviously). Try to go for one that does NOT have "hydrolyzed soy protein" as an ingredient. These sauces are made by chemically treating the soy protein, thus bypassing the time consuming natural fermentation process (HT: Alton Brown).

Dal + rice

The Goods*:

1 cup orange dal

1 cup jasmine rice

6 cups water

1 large shallot

1 1" piece fresh ginger

5 cloves garlic

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp ground cardamom

1/4 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds

6-8 dried thai chilis

2 black cardamom pods

1/2 tbsp butter

Peel and thinly slice the shallot. Peel and finely dice the ginger. Place a few spritzes of olive oil in large stock pot on medium-low heat. Smash the garlic cloves with the back of a knife to remove the skin. Place the smashed garlic, cumin, coriander, chili powder, cardamom powder, turmeric, fenugreek seeds, and dried chilis in a mortar. Grind the spices together with the garlic until a fragrant paste develops.

Add the shallots to the pot. Sweat the shallots for approximately 5 minutes, then add the ginger. Cook for a few minutes longer, then add the spice mixture and black cardamom pods. Cook for another few minutes, then add the butter. I've found that the dal benefit from a little extra fat. I also use the butter here as a fake-ish sort of deglaze to pull some of the spices off the bottom of the pot before adding the dal. Add the dal, rice, and water. Turn the heat up to medium high until a boil develops, then reduce the heat to low. Simmer with the lid on the pot for 30-40 minutes, or until all of the water is absorbed. These proportions produce an epic amount of dal and rice. I think I'll probably get three or so lunches out of this batch!

*I've been a big fan of dal for some time. Not only is it simple to cook, but was my first foray into Indian cooking at home. This recipe (HT: Jill) hooks dal up with rice. It is a marriage made in heaven. This post is a synthesis of my normal dal recipe and the linked recipe. Enjoy!

Lacquerfish

The Goods*:

2 1/3 lb frozen, boneless salmon fillets

Brine

2 kg (2 liters) water

100 grams kosher salt

1 lemon

1 sprig rosemary

6 cloves garlic

1 handful fresh parsley

1 tbsp dijon mustard

1 tsp peppercorns

Lacquer

1 cup sake

1 tbsp honey

1 tbsp dijon mustard

2 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp soy sauce

1/2 tsp sesame oil

1/2 tsp sugar

Prepare the brine by adding the water, warm from the tap, to a large container. Add the salt. Strip the rosemary leaves from the sprig. Zest the lemon. Place half of the zest in the brine; set aside the remaining zest. Slice the lemon and add the slices to the brine. Add the remaining ingredients to the brine and mix thoroughly. Place the frozen salmon fillets in the brine and use a small plate to keep them submerged. Brine for four to five hours.

Remove the salmon from the brine and rinse under cold water. Pat dry with a paper towel and set aside. Set the oven's broiler on high. Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil. Add a few spritzes of oil to the foil to keep the fish from sticking.

Prepare the lacquer by adding the sake to a non-stick skillet on medium high heat. Add the remaining lacquer ingredients and the remaining lemon zest to the skillet. Cook until the consistency of the liquid resembles a syrup.

Place the salmon fillets on the foil-lined sheet pan. Drizzle the lacquer evenly over each fillet. Broil on high for six minutes. Remove from the oven and serve immediately.

Fish brine!

*I've had food-related lacquer on my mind since I saw Soy Lacquered Pork Belly on the menu at Ken Oringer's Clio. As it turns out, Ming Tsai, of all people, has Chef Oringer's recipe on his own personal (Tsai's) website. This is an adaptation of that recipe along with a few random others.

Rosemary pork tenderloin with gremolata

The Goods*:

1 lb pork tenderloin

Gremolata

1 tbsp chopped parsley

2 tsp lemon zest

1 tsp chopped garlic

Brine

2 liters (2 kg) water

100 grams kosher salt

10 cloves garlic

2 rosemary stems

1 large handful fresh parsley

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp peppercorns

2 bay leaves

Add the brine water (warm from the tap) to a large container. Add the salt. Stir until the salt dissolves. Crush each clove of garlic with the back of a knife to remove the skin. Roughly tear the parsley and add it to the brine. Trim the rosemary leaves from the stalk; add to the brine. Add the remaining brine ingredients and brine the pork for a while**.

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Remove the pork from the brine and rinse under cold water. Trim any fat or silver skin; pat the pork dry with a paper towel. Heat some sunflower oil in an oven-proof heavy skillet on medium-high heat***. When the oil is hot, add the tenderloin to the pan. Sear until all sides are browned, about 3-4 minutes total. Place the pan in the oven and bake for 18 minutes at 400 F. When the meat is done, remove from the oven and place on a plate. Cover with aluminum foil. Allow the meat to rest for at least ten minutes.

Prepare the gremolata by finely chopping a tablespoon of parsley. The zest of one medium-sized lemon should provide two teaspoons. Chop one clove of garlic (one large clove of garlic should provide one teaspoon). Mix the parsley, lemon zest, and garlic in a small bowl. When the pork has finished resting, slice it to the desired thickness. Serve with the gremolata over the pork slices, with roasted potatoes, and an arugula salad.

*Pork, pork, pork, pork! I'm obsessed with the pork tenderloin. After that delicious tenderloin from Stillman's, I was tempted by the loin once more in Trader Joe's. Joe's sells them for ~$5 per pound, making for a lovely inexpensive dinner. The gremolata part comes courtesy of Ruhlman. Though, to be fair, I read about gremolata with braised beef short ribs in Keller's Ad Hoc.

**I only brined for 3 hours because I did not have the foresight to brine overnight. Brining overnight is best, though if that is not possible, one should brine for as one can.

***I was reminded of the "high" portion of that heat. I had my stupid electric stove on 5 (out of 10) and realized I was not getting good color during the searing. So yeah, keep the heat high-ish.

Lemon, rosemary, and bacon-y kale with orzo

The Goods:

1 bunch Lacinato kale

2 strips thick-cut bacon

4 tsp lemon juice

4 sprigs fresh rosemary

2 star anise pods

1/2 dozen crimini mushrooms

1/2 medium onion

1 cup orzo*

1/2 cup white wine

1/4 cup gruyere cheese

3 liters water

100 grams kosher salt, plus more for tasting

Thinly slice the bacon strips. Place the bacon in a heavy sauté pan on medium heat. As the bacon begins to brown, turn down the heat. The goal is to cook the bacon and render off as much fat as possible. Remove the cooked bacon from the pan and set aside. Leave the bacon fat in the pan.

Add the water and kosher salt to a large pot. Roughly chop two of the rosemary sprigs. Add the chopped rosemary springs, the anise pods, and two tsp of lemon juice to the pot. Set the pot to boil on high heat. Wash the kale. Tear the kale leaves into bite size pieces. Discard the stems. Prepare an ice bath by adding a dozen ice cubes to a large bowl of cold tap water. Blanch the kale by boiling for 2 minutes and then transferring immediately to the cold water bath. Drain the kale from the water bath in a colander. Take care to remove the stray ice cubes, anise pods, and large rosemary sprigs. Set aside.

Set a medium saucepan, three-quarters full of water, to boil on high heat. Slice the mushrooms and finely dice the onion. Place the sauté pan with the bacon fat on medium heat. Cook the mushrooms for a few minutes, until they brown. Add the onions, season with salt and pepper, and reduce the heat to low. Cook until the onions are translucent. Strip the leafy portion from remaining two rosemary sprigs and finely chop. When the onions are cooked, add the rosemary. Then, deglaze with the white wine and lemon juice. Add the blanched kale to the pan and cook on low until the liquid has reduced by a half.

Grate the gruyere using a box grater. Cook the orzo according to the box directions. Combined the cooked, drained orzo with the bacon and the contents of the sauté pan. Top with the grated cheese and serve.

Bacon makes everything better.

*I think the dish would be slightly more balanced with 3/4 cup orzo instead of a full cup. I always forget how much orzo expand after cooking.

Parsnip and cilantro lamb ramekins

The Goods*:

1 lamb sausage link (about 1/4 lb)

3 medium-large parsnips

1 large portabella mushroom cap

1/2 medium yellow onion

1 tbsp clarified butter**

1 clove garlic

1 large handful fresh cilantro, stems included

1 tsp tomato paste

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cumin

Sauce

1 cup water

1 tsp cilantro

2 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp salt

1 tsp butter

1 tsp AP flour

Set a large, well-salted pot on high heat to boil. Wash and dry the parsnips. Trim off the heads. Finely dice the parsnips (see below). Once the water comes to a boil, add the parsnip cubes. Boil the parsnips for 5 minutes. Drain in a colander and set aside.

Slice the mushroom cap as finely as possible while still keeping the thickness even. Heat a few spritzes of olive oil on medium in a large sauté pan. Working in small batches, sear the mushroom slices. They should need about 1 minute per side. Season with kosher salt and pepper, then set aside the cooked mushrooms.

Add some (roughly one quarter) of the clarified butter to the same skillet and raise the heat to medium high. Pan fry the boiled parsnips in small batches. It is important not to crowd the pan or they will burn. Each batch should cook for roughly 3 minutes, or until some brown color develops. Set aside the browned parsnips.

Finely dice the onion half. Remove the skin from the sausage link and crumble the meat, along with some olive oil, into the same sauté pan on medium heat. After a few minutes, add the onion. Once the onion is translucent and the meat appears mostly cooked, add the garlic, cumin, and coriander. After another minute or so, deglaze the pan with 1/2 a cup of water. Add the tomato paste. Cook for a few more minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line the bottom of four ramekins with the mushroom slices (see below). Finely chop the cilantro. In a large mixing bowl, combine the parsnips, onion/lamb mixture, and the cilantro. Mix well. Pack the mixture into the ramekins. Using an appropriately sized drinking glass, press the mixture down within each ramekin. Bake for 10 minutes.

Place the same skillet back on medium heat. Finely chop the cilantro. Add the water, cilantro, salt, and lemon juice. In a small bowl, cream the butter with the flour. Once the water in the pan is bubbling, add the butter/flour mixture to thicken the sauce. When the ramekins are finished, invert onto a plate and serve with the sauce. Two ramekins should feed one person.

Parsnip dicing diagram

The seared mushroom slices.

Mushrooms in the ramekins.

The lamb meets the parsnips.

The finished product!

*This was the result of yet another attempt to scrounge together dinner without another trip to the grocery store. I had a few parsnips on hand, a portabella mushroom cap, some fresh cilantro, and this lovely lamb sausage, in the hot Italian style, from Stillman's Farm.

**High-heat friendly oil can be substituted here.

Creme caramel

The Goods*:

1 cup milk

4 oz. eggs (2 large eggs)

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 pinch salt

Caramel

1/4 cup sugar

1 tbsp water

Combine the water and sugar for the caramel in a small non-stick pan over medium-high heat**. Cook until the sugar has melted and browned. Carefully pour the caramel, evenly divided, into three ramekins. It should provide a 1/8" coating on the bottom of the ramekins. Allow the caramel to cool and harden into a candy.

Preheat the oven to 325 F. Place the ramekins in a large pyrex (or other suitable for the oven baking vessel) dish. Add water to the pyrex dish until the level is three-quarters of the way up the ramekins. Remove the ramekins and put the pyrex dish in the oven.

Combine the custard ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Whisk vigorously until the eggs are thoroughly beaten and the mixture is well incorporated. Add the liquid to each ramekin. Place the ramekins in the pyrex dish in the oven. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until the custard is almost set. Remove from the oven and cool. Once the ramekins are at room temperature, refrigerate for several hours before serving.

To serve, use a butter knife to cut along the edge of the ramekin wall. Place a small plate over the ramekin upside down, then invert both. The custard should slip out with

*Yet another item straight out of Ratio.

**The first time I tried this, I was scared to death of somehow burning the sugar. Of course, that is exactly what you are trying to do here. Caramel is burnt sugar. If the heat is too low, the water will simply cook off before the sugar has browned, leaving behind an ugly white paste.

Pear and cilantro roast pork tenderloin

The Goods*:

1.5-ish lb pork tenderloin

1 medium-sized d'anjou pear

1 star anise pod**

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp sugar

1 tsp ground coriander

2 cups water

1 shallot

1 tsp chopped cilantro

2 tsp chopped cilantro stems

1 tbsp butter/1 tbsp flour

Brine

2 liters (2 kg) water

100 grams kosher salt

10 cloves garlic

2 medium-sized d'anjou pears

1 heaping bunch cilantro

2 bay leaves

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp peppercorns

1 bunch thyme

Add the brine water (warm from the tap) to a large container. Add the salt. Stir the water until the salt dissolves. Slice the pears and smash the garlic cloves. Add the garlic, pear slices, and the remaining ingredients to the brine. I brined the pork for 8 hours, but I'd recommend, if time is alloted, to brine overnight.

The third pear is used as a base for the sauce. Peel the off the skin and slice the pear in half length-wise. Thinly (less than 1 cm) slice each pear half. Add the pear slices, salt, sugar, anise pod, ground coriander, and water to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil on high heat, then reduce heat and simmer for about an hour. The pears should soften considerably; some will begin to fall apart and the water will thicken a bit.

Preheat the oven to 400 F. After brining, rinse off any stuck on peppercorns or thyme sprigs. Thoroughly pat the meat dry with a few paper towels. Trim off the silver skin and any loose fat. Add a bit of sunflower oil to an oven-proof heavy sauté pan and set on medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the tenderloin. Seer until all sides are browned, or about 4 minutes total. Place the pan in the oven and bake for 18 minutes at 400 F. When the meat is done, remove it from the pan. Place the meat on a plate and cover with aluminum foil.

Slice the shallot. Mince the cilantro leaves and stems finely. Add some olive oil to the now meat-less sauté pan and set back on the stove on medium-low heat. Add the shallots and cook until the they are translucent. Remove the star anise from the pear/water solution and deglaze the shallot pan with it. Add the cilantro leaves and stems. Once this begins to simmer, add the butter/flour mixture to thicken it. Slice the meat and serve the sauce over it.

The pear/water solution

Searing the meat!

*This is the third pork tenderloin that I've cooked in the last month! This incarnation is very similar to this one. This pork happens to be locally sourced, from Stillman's farm, in Hardwick Massachusetts.

**I've recently discovered that star anise, cilantro, and coriander are an amazing flavor combination (Yes, the continent of Asia has been on to this one for a long time, but hey). This happens to also really bring out the somewhat subtle flavor of (admittedly unripe) pears.