One Gnocchi at a Time

When I was younger, I wanted to change the world, revolution-style. I lived for the play Les Miserables (had the entire three-disc soundtrack and have seen it live--twice); I defied gravity (or wished I could) like Elpheba from Wicked; I wanted to embody the spirit of the cast from Rent; the only books I ever read were about poor people by critics of society (we're talking Dickens and Dostoyesvky here); I had a huge dissillusionment with the American dream phase and read all Fitzergerarld, Hemingway and Steinbeck. When I thought about my future, I wanted to change things so people weren't poor or hungry or terrorized, and I wanted to do it in a big way. I thought by being a foreign aid worker I could end social injustice, or by teaching English I could give someone a new opportunity. Listening to Underdog by Spoon, I think "Yeah! You've got no fear for the underdog/that's why you will not survive!" But then I wonder if I've become the person smoking a pipe in my living room with my slippers set out for me.

I'm not making any changes. I have a desk job, which I love, but I write about luxury travel and restaurants. I volunteer with pretty privileged high school students. I am no where near rich, but I do own a car and rent a really nice apartment with a great roommate, and I have great friends and family and somehow have found contentedness even though, or perhaps because, I go to bed before 11 on weeknights, watch episodes of Friends on DVD and make handmade gnocchi on long Sunday afternoons. That contentedness, I want to cling to it.

So it seems the only life I can change is my own.

I'm just a little person, who can barely barely barely do (or say) the right thing--ever. I don't even have the energy to teach 200 Thai kids how to say "Hello, my name is Cheerawat. What is your name?" in English. I have no vision for the big picture that God is painting because I'm in the picture, dancing around on the canvas doing my own thing. But I have a gut feeling that is what I'm supposed to do. I'm not better than the picture, no matter how much I want it.

I think, I think what God wants me to do is love. Love him, love my friends, love my family and even love people who break into my apartment. It's so little yet so big. So excuse the metaphor, but love is one tiny, bee-shaped gnocchi, made over and over again.

Sweet Potato Gnocchi: from Gourmet

2 medium baking potatoes
1 big sweet potato (there should be twice as much baking potatoes)
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
salt and pepper
1/3 cup ricotta cheese
1 cup flour, plus more for dusting
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup olive oil
handful sage leaves
handful sliced almonds (original recipe calls for chestnuts)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 450. Pierce potatoes with a fork and bake for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool slightly. Peel and let cool completely. Smash together with a fork on the baking sheet until consistency is pretty smooth. Pile up and form a well in the middle of potatoes.

In a small bowl, whisk together egg, nutmeg, and some salt and pepper. Pour part of the egg mixture into the well of the potato pile. Knead a couple times. Add half of the flour and continue to knead. Add some parmesan cheese, knead. Add the rest of the egg mixture and enough flour (knead here too) to make the dough cling together but still slightly sticky. Rip off a portion of the dough and turn it out on a heavily floured surface. Roll into a snake (just like PlayDough) that is about 1/2-inch thick. Cut snake into 1/2-inch pieces (they look like pillows). Place pillows on a baking sheet while you roll out and cut the rest of the dough in the same manner. When finished cutting the gnocchi, roll each pillow into a ball. Then using a fork run the balls of dough over the tines with your thumb and pinch at the back. (Follow the pictures below for visual instructions.) The rivets and oblong shape allow the gnocchi cook quickly, with the inside cooking without the outside over-cooking. Set aside.

In a medium skillet, heat the oil until it is shimmering. Drop the sage leaves into the oil and fry for about 30 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon. Drop the almonds into the oil and fry for another 30 seconds and remove with a slotted spoon. (The original recipe calls for chestnuts, which I'm sure are devine, but I knew they would be impossible to find--almonds worked really well.) Reduce heat to low. Leaving the oil in the skillet, melt the butter until it is lightly browned.

Meanwhile, bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Drop in half of the gnocchi and boil until they float (takes about 3 mintes). Remove gnocchi with a slotted spoon and place in the melted butter-oil. Simmer for a couple minutes, stirring to coat. Cook the remainder of the gnocchi and place in the melted butter. Serve topped with sage leaves, almonds and parmesan cheese.

Imitating Selby and The Smile

Inspiration for this dessert came from The Selby, a photographic project by artist/photographer Todd Selby. He goes into the homes of creative people (plus Peaches Geldof--who I do not consider to be particularly creative, am I right?) and just takes photos of them and their stuff, books, art, stuff that inspires them--some of these people are serious pack rats.

But Selby recently did a photo shoot for Cole, Rood and Haan (you know Cole Haan, shoes, bags, whatever) that I am probably the most obsessed with. He went to some of his favorite places in New York, one of which is a restaurant/cafe/gallery/gathering place called The Smile (I even love their Web site). On long days at work, I'll distract myself by clicking through the photos on this series and swooning over The Smile's dark wood and cozy atmosphere, this girl's boots (obviously Cole, Rood & Haan) and then I noticed this photo:

See that Fage Greek yogurt in the background. I had forgotten that I bought that brand of yogurt a week or so ago and it was sitting, lonely, in a drawer in my fridge. It's plain yogurt and it's pretty sour tasting--I'm not quite hardcore enough to eat it plain. I had thought of pairing it with honey and some granola, but this is even better. Tastes sort of like ice cream. And look how pretty.

Yogurt and Jam: plain yogurt jam almonds

Blueberry Orange Loaf

I could eat berries as if they were candy, staining my fingers red, blue and violet. And lately, I sort of have been. I've been pouring blueberries and strawberries on my Kashi cereal every morning. I've made tarts, gazed longingly at muffins, put them on salads. I have great plans for the blueberries, cherries and strawberries taking up an inordinate amount of space in my fridge and freezer. I'm thinking of crepes, crumbles and granola. And also quick bread, pulled straight out of the oven and eaten with a pad of melted butter on top.

Blueberry Orange Loaf: 2 cups flour 1 cup sugar 1 tablespoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 egg, beaten 3/4 cup milk or half and half 1/4 cup cooking oil 1/4 cup orange juice 1 cup blueberries 3/4 cup chopped and blanched almonds 2 tablespoons orange zest Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In a medium bowl, beat together milk, egg, oil and orange juice (in that order so the milk doesn't curdle). Form a well in the dry mixture. Pour wet mixture into dry and combine until barely moistened.

In a small bowl, combine blueberries, almonds and orange zest. Stir together with 1 tablespoon flour. Add to batter and stir until just combined, be careful not to overwork the batter. Pour into greased 8x4 loaf pan and bake for 50 to 55 minutes until cooked through.

Spaghetti Squash = Magic

Now that I've taken account of the contents of my pantry, I realize empying is something that has got to happen but will be impossible to complete before Saturday. I have a potato in there that has probably established roots--I was too afraid to look.

I did a decent job of emptying out these jarred Mediterranean items. I've had the capers for well over a year (probably why they don't taste good anymore). But in the process of cleaning off my counter I discovered an amazing new gourd: the aptly name spaghetti squash.

There are so many just weird things this earth produces. Gourds are kind of weird in general. And the spaghetti squash is definitely not the weirdest out there. But it's pretty sweet that you can boil a halved and de-seeded squash just like pasta, let it cool a bit and then scrape the sides and it looks like spaghetti. The flavor of this squash is really mild, so it goes with any sort of sauce you might put with regular, wheaty pasta.

Spaghetti Squash with Tapenade: from Food and Wine 1 spaghetti squash 1 cup coarsely-chopped almonds >1/2 cup Kalamata olives, pitted 1 tablespoon capers couple sun-dried tomatoes 1/4 cup scallions 3 tablespoons lemon juice 1 tablespoon olive oil salt and pepper handful or so crumbled feta cheese You'll want to toast or blanch the almonds if they aren't toasted already. So pre-heat the oven the 350. Toast whole almonds for 5 to 7 minutes, then pulse in the food processor until coarsely chopped.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil--both halves of the squash will need to fit in the pot, so make sure it's big enough. Slice the spaghetti squash in half and spoon out the seeds. Place carefully in boiling water and simmer until al dente--about 12 minutes. Remove and place upside down to cool while you make the tapenade. Once cooled a bit, using a fork, scrape the insides. It will magically form little strips of squash--don't ask questions of Mother Nature, just enjoy.

In a food processor, pulse pitted olives, capers, tomatoes, scallions, lemon juice and a bit of olive oil (anchovies also often go in tapenades).

In a bowl, toss the squash, almonds, feta cheese and tapenade with a drizzle of olive oil and sprinkle with salt a pepper. Serves four as a salad.

And I'll confess here that I am not at all a fan of tapenade. I've made variations before, and I just don't like it, so if you're looking for a good alternative to that sauce, toss squash with feta, salt, pepper, almonds, lemon juice, olive oil and some herbs.