UnRecipe: Shhhh -- Downton's On...

We finally fell down the rabbit-hole a few weeks ago, giving into the social pressure to watch the mega-super-all-the-cool-kids-watch-this-popular British series Downton Abbey. It's basically Upstairs, Downstairs, heavy on the suds and a righteous-sized set dressing/wardrobe budget. It's also addictive like sugar-coated crack with bacon bits on top. This picture is not, in fact, sugar-coated crack with bacon bits, more like a spicy curry squash and peanut soup with fried chickpeas. Why feature it with Downton Abbey? Because it's so dang civilised (notice I use the hoity-toity "s" spelling) and it's quick to make, ready in time to watch the latest episode and slurp the soup without catching a sidelong disapproving stare by Lady Violet.

Lady Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham would not approve of this "exotic" soup - Photo by Wasabi Prime

Give it up for Netflix Streaming, as we spent a weekend watching season one of Downton, almost back to back, which got us primed for PBS Masterpiece's current airing of Season Two, which they've been good about keeping episodes online, FYI. Amazingly, it was Mr. Wasabi who suggested we give it a go. I knew I'd get obsessed with it, so I was putting it off, and it was a pleasant surprise the Mister was keen to watch. I think it was because we rewatched the old Mystery! series, Cadfael, with the I, Claudius-fantastic Derek Jacobi, we're still waiting for season 2 of Sherlock to get its booty shakin' and we were on Brit-withdrawal (Brithdrawal?). It's a twisted, complex path that led us to the sprawling estate of Downton and the Earl of Grantham's melodramatic household, but I'm sure those squirrelly Crawleys wouldn't have it any other way.

In order to really absorb all the drama of this series, you don't want a fussy meal to distract from whatever hour-long intrigue that's afoot, so I suggest a creamy, rich squash and peanut soup. It's quick, delicious and looks all fancy-like if you garnish it up nicely. I admit, it's nice to have some pre-roasted squash that was frozen and set aside for a rainy day, but if you had a can of plain, unsweetened pumpkin, that would work dandy for this. I had a particular hankering for the spice of curry and the sweetness of peanut butter, so I combined the two in this soup. You can use your favorite curry powder or a small spoonful of curry paste to mix in with your squash puree, a heavy shake of chili or cayenne powder for heat, and about a quarter cup of smooth unsweetened peanut butter. Add in enough chicken or vegetable stock to give it the consistency you want in the soup, and if you have a stick blender, run that through as well, to give it a super-creamy consistency. Season to taste -- add salt and pepper accordingly, and if you want to highlight the sweetness, add a little sugar or honey to it.

My favorite soup topping is pan-fried chickpeas. Simple enough to make -- take a can of well-drained chickpeas and toss lightly with canola oil and some of the curry powder before putting them into a pan heated to medium. They'll sizzle and pop a bit, you just want to cook out as much of the liquid but not burn the beans. They'll get seasoned, smoky and lightly crisped, and be a bit lighter with so much of the water cooked out, so they'll top a thick soup rather nicely.

Downton-Harry Potter meme-osity by the Mister... and crispy chickpeas! - Photos by Wasabi Prime

You know something's good if it's worth doing a meme-mashup. Brock kept saying how the actor that plays the infuriatingly berzerker footman, Thomas, looks a lot like a young Voldemort/Tom Riddle from the Harry Potter movies. It's true! Think about it... Maybe it's the soft, eerily calm voice; the lazy, sociopathic stare when he's speaking with the Upstairs folks, or the fact Thomas just reeks of pure scheming eeeeevil. So, the Mister put together this clever meme, since whenever Thomas shows up in a scene, Brock whispers, "horcrux." I laugh, miss half the dialogue in the scene, and we have to rewind it.

But enough fussing!! Downton's starting -- shhhhhh!!

UnRecipe: The Meals That Just Happen

If you've been sticking with my ramblings for this long, you'll know that this blog isn't so much about the intricacies of complex dishes or the following of recipes to the letter. Definitely not about recipes -- if I were on the Lewis and Clark expedition, we'd have found ourselves several miles down the Nile River after making a wrong turn in Albuquerque.  Don't ask how that would happen, but if I were writing the rules, I would make this happen. Food is something that just happens. The less you plan around it, the more you can just let the ingredients be your guide, and that's not a bad thing. Take this dinner in particular -- a roasted pork loin with a roasted root vegetable mash -- I really did just let the ingredients guide the way, and we wound up with one meal that stretched into several variations throughout the week.

The Dinner That Just Happens - Aimless Cooking at Wasabi's - Photo by Wasabi Prime

I know, it looks fancy and fussy, a mash of root veggies in the middle of a creamy soup and a little slice of pork tenderloin on top. Let's be honest, this shot was clearly for the blog -- a beauty shot, as it were. The meal itself was more like a random pile of all these ingredients on a plate, scarfed down with eager om-nom-nom-ness. Don't let the presentation throw you off -- I awoke on a Thursday morning, pulled our CSA box from the chilly front porch and found a mix of squash and carrots, and I always have some sweet potatoes on hand for cold weather months. I buy meat and freeze it for later use, pork loin being a favorite cut, since it's a good basic. Granted, it's on the lean side, so not a ton of flavor, but it's like a tabula rasa meat, so you can add whatever seasonings you want, cooking it in whatever manner you like. For meals like ours that go totally unplanned and seat-of-your-pants, it rolls with the punches nicely.

Pork loin doesn't always have a ton of fat, so, it also runs the risk of drying out and turning into a hockey puck. Not delicious. I seasoned the loin with an ample amount of salt and pepper and a light rub of vegetable oil before cooking. This particular cut was boneless, so no extra flavor from bone, but it did have a bit of a fat cap on one side. I lightly scored the layer of fat and in a hot cast iron Dutch oven it went. I did a good sear on the whole loin, starting with the fat cap. It gave it a nice crisp char, rendering it down, and I put a sear around the surface of the whole loin before removing the loin to a plate. I mostly wanted to get the lovely browned bits of flavor into the pot. I took the heat down a little and threw in a few pounds of rough-chopped carrots, sweet potato and an onion. I let the onion sweat a little and get the carrots and sweet potatoes starting to cook and soften. I added a bit of braising liquid -- if there's chicken stock available, I throw that in, but this time I just used a light beer. Keeping a few bottles of beer handy is nice if you want to deglaze a pan or get a braising liquid going. A dry white wine would also work fine.

One-Pot Cooking, My Favorite Way to Do a Meal! - Photos by Wasabi Prime

With the extra liquid in the pot and a layer of vegetables, the loin was added back in, the pot was lidded and into a 350 degree oven it went. Having the meat cook slower, in a lidded and moist environment helps keep it from getting tough, and you still get that nice browning from the initial sear. This is a good rule of thumb for cooking large cuts of meat and keeping it moist -- high heat first, then a slower, lower heat to finish off. When the loin was fully cooked, I let it rest and mashed the vegetables in the pot. On their own, this would be a meal, the slices of pork with a side of the mash. I had roasted the squash and made a simple soup -- basically chicken stock and the roasted squash; having a hand blender is helpful for finishing off creamy soups. But the main event was the pork and vegetable mash; the soup was just a nice side dish. We were able to stretch the pork into several different meals, having it with soup, the root veggie mash, and the large chunks of the loin could be reheated with other sauces and incorporated into other meals with other vegetables. Again, none of the meals really have much thought put into them beyond, "What do we have and what can we throw together relatively quickly on a weeknight?" While meals like these seem kind of disorganized and unplanned, they're relatively quick to make and are good for everyday meals. It's always easy to find special occasion meals, but for dishes that feed the household on a regular basis, it's nice to find one-pot meals or ingredients that are flexible to work with.

Multiple Meals from One Pork Loin at the Wasabi Household - Photos by Wasabi Prime

Mixed Plate: Fall on Me

Wasabi Prime is back! Well... sort of.

In anticipation of being stricken with a severe case of vacation-hangover and just plain wiped from returning from the family visit, I wrote this in advance to have something season-appropriate for the week. Right before leaving, everyone in and around Seattle enjoyed that amazing autumn weekend of clear skies and glorious fall colors in the Pacific Northwest. I took several photos and they were too fun not to share.

Fall is awesome, as is silly legwear - Photo by Wasabi Prime

I already posted this pic on the Prime's lil' sistah site, Jaunty Magpie, but it pretty much sums up what I love best about fall: bright leaves and wearing wacky tights. Mr. Wasabi and I often spend our Saturdays at the Redmond Town Center with the manic furry menace known as Indy the dog, grabbing the ubiquitous latte and at least for the last few months, wandering the local farmer's market for tasty goods. October is the last month for most farmer's markets, including this one, so this is somewhat of a swan song to this weekend habit.

Raindrops on roses notwithstanding, these are also a few of my favorite things - Photos by Wasabi Prime

We've purchased pretty bouquets from the flower vendors many times. The pumpkin vase idea was a cute one. It's a shame Thanksgiving is so far off, as that would make for a cheerful host/hostess gift. Although nothing says "thanks for giving" like a bottle of booze, so there's something to be said for solid standbys. Something I was disappointed with not being able to take advantage of were the multi-hued bell peppers. Huge bins of the gorgeous things were at several booths and I had to keep telling myself that they wouldn't have maintained freshness in the fridge for our return home.

Butternut squash: totally delicious and not just for infantile jokes - Photo by Wasabi Prime

The joys of multicolored squash were in full effect as well with the market vendors. I love an ingredient that can be both decorative and perform a delicious role in a meal. We have a sugar pumpkin from a friend's garden sitting at home awaiting its culinary fate and I have little doubt the household favorite, butternut squash, will be back to make regular trips through our kitchen again.

The surrounding trees were completely ablaze with color, especially in the sun. Much like the fleeting beauty of spring when the cherry blossoms are out, autumn is the seasonal gift that's so beautiful and inspiring, it's an act of providence that it's such a short period so that we're reminded how fortunate we are to experience it and to really savor these times.

The joys of autumn and a totally rad vintage car - Photos by Wasabi Prime