Razor clams go with almost everything

I mean it, razor clams do go with almost everything.  Just don't overcook them!  Actually, if you separate the critter from its shell by dipping in boiling water, about 20-30 seconds will cook them enough to keep them from tasting "too" raw and not so much as to turn them into little white rubber bands.  Do not fear the tender razor clam.

Some ideas about what to do with chopped razor clams:

A razor clam garnish on drained pasta, with tomato sauce, pesto sauce, Alfredo sauce or just Balsamic vinegar and olive oil.  A little pepper and salt, if you please.  Don't forget that fish sauce and sesame oil from your local Asian grocery store makes a hearty noodle soup.  

Got tortillas?  drop in a few ounces on the middle of a tortilla and make a wrap.  Don't forget some veggies like lettuce, tomatoes, garlic for a little bite, hot sauce or pesto.  anything goes.  \

Got bread?  Make an open face sandwich.

Fritters?  Definitely a time honored method of eating these boys, if you don't mind all the oil that soaks into the breading.  You can also fry them without the breading.  NO matter what, don't overcook.

Ceviche?  Why not?  Scour the web for a recipe and substitute clams for whatever other seafood it calls for.

In ice cream or yogurt?  Yeah!   It's great!

Vegan Hoppin' John

my Vegan Hoppin' John recipe
A new year's recipe to bring good luck.

Ingredients:
2 C. brown rice
1 C. black eyed peas
15 gm of garlic, 4 stalks of celery, 1 medium yellow or white onion
2 T of paprika, 2 t of thyme, Tabasco to taste, a dash of Liquid smoke, a half cup of white wine or vegetable broth
bell peppers, raisins, fresh tomatoes, parsley or cilantro if desired

Pressure cook for 15 minutes:
2 cups of brown rice with 1 cup of black eyed peas, 5 cups of water, a dash of salt

Chop up 15 gm of garlic, 4 stalks of celery, 1 medium yellow or white onion and about 15 minutes after mutilating the garlic, saute everything for 6-8 minutes in 2 Tb of oil or til the veggies are soft
add 2 T of paprika, 2 t of thyme, Tabasco to taste, a dash of Liquid smoke, a half cup of white wine or vegetable broth, let it simmer a bit .   then add the black eyed peas and rice
top with parsley  or cilantro if desired.
For some real fun add red pepper flakes.  and raisins.  Bell peppers of any color or ilk always like this party--saute with the garlic celery & onions.
Fresh tomatoes on top finish the dish nicely, if desired.

Bread 600 gm

for Manchester race 600 gm loaf made, with 500g water. ferment about 13 hr. proof 2 hr. baked 40 min covered, 15 min open. Great!

How to cook with tofu

Whoa, draining the tofu. The ultimate drain: http://video.about.com/vegetarian/Tofu.htm

Pugliese Bread

This is the Bread bakers laboratory of ireproducible results.

I made three loaves of Pugliese bread using the big oven.com recipe http://www.bigoven.com/9353-Pugliese-Bread-recipe.html referenced to:

Geminis MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini

After having used the recipe for at least 3 months now, I am still a little baffled. what does it mean by:

Roll each part into long strand. Roll up along length, stretching slightly. Turn dough sideways and roll to long string again. Roll up into tight ball, tucking to ends under. Let rise 1 hour, covered with towel. Pre-heat oven to 450, with pan of water in the oven, about 20 minutes before baking.

Does it mean manipulating the dough wet? Or on a floured surface with a rolling stick/pin?

I used 2 1/3 cups biga (http://www.bigoven.com/38243-Biga-(Italian-Bread-Starter)-recipe.html) though the recipe calls for 13/16 cup biga. I don't know how anybody measures 13/16 cups, that's really stupid. I added an extra cup of water to the bread recipe--7.5 cups would have left the dough too dry, weighing a total of 2600 grams. I stirred it all together by hand with a wooden spoon, which is for me the best considering I don't want to own a stand mixer for just one task. I let the dough rise for 3-4 hours then, I made two 650 gm loaves to rise in 4x8 glass loaf pans, & one 1300 gm loaf to proof in a pyrex casserole 8.5" x 3.5" high.. I rolled one small loaf wet, the other on a floured surface. The big loaf went on a floured board where I used the stretch and fold method, per instructions for Ciabatta bread in Baking Artisan Bread by Ciril Hitz.

9.15 p.m. the loaves have risen just past the tops of the bread pans and the large casserole dish. they'll go into the oven which is steamy from the water in pans on the bottom elements.

10 p.m. I baked the bread loaves at ~425 deg F for 35 min., spraying the bread w water every 3 min during the first 15 min. Just looking at them, I cannot tell the difference between the two little loaves--they are almost exactly the same height. I'll have a chance to see in about 30 minutes. And tomorrow I shall bring one to Westport for lunch during the fiberglassing of the splashguards on Vern's big canoe--the large loaf, I think I'll share with Lydia.

Oh ya, saw some bread making videos, um you didn't know people video every thing but to me this takes the loaf!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZt552aGox8&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LaODcYSRXU&NR=1&feature=fvwp

Italian breads

Got started with hand made breads during Hawaii trip in Feb 2010 when my hosts railed at the price of grocery store breads. (cheapo white bread was $4/loaf) Amazingly, flour cost about the same as in the lower 48. So we got some flour, yeast etc and made French bread using library book "Beard on Bread". first 2 loaves made on a baking sheet, good bread but a little flat, only 1.5" tall. Then used a couple or round pans to bake the next 2 loaves, very nice loaves 3" tall. Great recipe that req little labor beyond kneading for 15 min.

Then got home and made Pugliese after the recipe from www.Bigoven.com
Did it again while in Vegas visiting family. Great recipe. low amount of work required. mix the starter. let it work. mix the dough, let it rise. form the loaves. let them rise, bake. voila! 4 loaves, easy work.

Made Ciabatta also, though not sure how it really differs from Pugiese. I don't have enough ovens to compare.

Baked four loaves from instructions in Tassajara Bread Book, written by cook at the tassajara retreat in california--very time/labor intensive. kneading 4 loaves is work. Life is too short to spend that much time making a few loaves of bread. Far better to make the Italians.

15 minute pasta with no leftovers,

Start with enough water for the amount of pasta you're cooking. Since this is a blog about cooking for one, I use 3-4 ounces of pasta and 3 cups of water. a teaspoon of salt makes it boil hotter.

1 Tomato cut into chunks. Broccoli crowns, wash and cut one or two handfuls, while waiting for the water to boil. Check the pasta package & the cooking time. Drop the pasta into the boiling water, and about 4 minutes before you finish cooking it, drop in the broccoli. Warm your plate by placing some water in it and microwave for 1 minute. Drain the pasta and broccoli together then place on your plate
Olive oil, 2-3 tablespoons. add to the pasta & broccoli, mix. add 1 tablespoon basil & 1/2 teaspoon oregano, several shakes of white pepper. mix. add grated Parmesan cheese or any cheese you have handy. Chunks of tomato go around the edge of the pasta. eat.

Double everything if you have company and add a sprig of parsley (if you have it) as a garnish.