Old Standbys

Artichoke Pizza

olive oil
1 small red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 small orange or yellow bell pepper, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/4 cup mayonaise
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
1 9 oz can artichoke hearts, drained
1 pizza crust
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan
1/2 tsp. dried thyme

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Heat oil in a skillet. Add bell peppers. Saute for 3 minutes. Add half the garlic, saute until peppers are tender, then set aside. Combine remaining garlic, mayonaise, crushed red pepper, black pepper, and artichoke hearts in a food processor (or blender, or just mash). Process until finely chopped. Place pizza crust on baking sheet, top with artichoke heart mixture, then bell pepper mixture. Sprinkle with cheeses and thyme. Bake at 450 for 10-15 minutes.


Leek, Mushroom, and Lemon Risotto

8 oz trimmed leeks
2-3 cups crimini mushrooms
2 Tbsp. olive oil
3 garlic cloves, crushed
6 Tbsp. butter
1 large onion, roughly chopped
1 3/4 cups risotto rice
5 cups simmering vegetable stock
grated zest of 1 lemon
3 Tbsp. of lemon juice
2/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup mixed chopped fresh chives and parsley
salt and freshly ground black pepper
lemon wedges, to serve

Wash the leeks well. Slice them in half lengthwise and chop them roughly. Wipe the mushrooms with paper towels and chop them roughly.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan and cook the garlic for 1 minute. Add the leeks, mushrooms, and plenty of seasoning and cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes, or until softened and browned. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Add 2 Tbsp. of the butter to the pan. As soon as it has melted, add the onion and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, until softened and golden.

Stir in the rice and cook for about 1 minute, until the grains begin to look translucent and are coated in the fat. Add a ladleful of the stock to the pan and cook gently, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has been absorbed.

Continue to add stock, a ladleful at a time, until all the stock has been absorbed. This should take 25-30 minutes. The risotto will turn thick and creamy and the rice should be tender but not sticky.

Just before serving, stir in the leeks, mushrooms, remaining butter, grated lemon zest and juice. Add half the grated parmesan and herbs. Adjust the seasoning and sprinkle with the remaining parmesan and herbs. Garnish with parsley, if you like, and serve with lemon wedges.


Marbled Cheesecake Squares

2 cups plus 1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, slightly softened
16 oz. (2 pkgs) cream cheese AT ROOM TEMP
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 Tbsp whipping cream
4 oz. semisweet chocolate, melted (melt later)

opt.: raspberry jam, for swirling

Heat oven to 350 degrees f.

Combine 2 cups flour and brown sugar in mixing bowl. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Spread and pat firmly onto bottom of an ungreased 9x13 pan. Bake until lightly browned, about 15 mins. Place pan on a rack to cool and lower oven temp to 325. Combine cream cheese and sugar in a mixing bowl. Beat until fluffy and smooth. Add eggs one at a time. Stir in remaining tablespoon of flour along with the vanilla and whipping cream. Pour batter evenly onto baked crust. Spoon melted chocolate over topping. Using a table knife, swirl the chocolate (and, optionally, raspberry jam) through the cheese topping until marbled throughout. Return to oven and bake until center is set, about 35 mins. Place pan on a rack to cool; cut into 2-inch squares. Serve slightly warm, at room temp or chilled.

Makes about 24 squares. Store covered in the pan for one day at room temp or in refrigerator for up to 5 days.

新词

我昨天晚上去上中文课. 春燕给我们的新词太多了, 而且成语也太多了. 她给了我们四个新成语!

下课后春燕和我一起走路回家. 她说<<你走路太快了. 我跟不上>>. 她还说<<你很聪明, 学得很快>>. 我说<<我学得不快. 数学很难. 我学得太慢了>>. 她说<<你是美国人! 你应该说 "是的! 我学得很快!">>.

今天晚上我去酒吧. 明天晚上我做晚饭. 我的朋友来我家吃晚饭.

我现在不想说英文.

Red Bean (or Green Mung Bean) Soup

Here are Chunyan's suggestions for making the soup, which I believe can be served warm or cold. We used to have the green one as a drink accompanying breakfast sometimes in China. The green version is supposed to cool your body down, while the red one warms you up.

Red Bean Soup

red beans (2-3 handfuls)
dried lotus nuts (about 10)
dried dates (about 10-15)
XI MI (西米 - tapioca) (0.5 - 1 handful)
1/3 of 1 stick of Chinese brown sugar

1. wash red beans, dates and lotus nuts, sink in the water for 2 hours;
2. boil the water, put the red beans into the pot;
3. after boiling, put the XI MI and lotus nuts in;
4. after boiling put dates in;
5. after boiling, cook on low for 2 hours (until the red beans look open like flower), put the sugar in, then cook on high for half hour (may add some water during this period, and you may half open the lid)

Suddenly busy

Visitor #5 is in town. Jess J. has been telling me about her time living in Korea. She taught English there and so she's here now visiting with her fellow English teachers from England and Ireland. Somehow she managed to live in Korea for four years without learning Baduk (or, for that matter, Korean). She did say that some of her students would go to Baduk classes after school.

Chunyan took Alicia and I out for dim sum this afternoon ("Chinese afternoon tea", she called it). 很好吃 - It was delicious. The waiter came by at one point and asked, "好吃吗?" ("Is it ok?"). Chunyan responded and, after he left, asked me if I understood. I told her that I had, but it takes me a minute; I don't realize that I understand in time to respond. She told us that the first time she had met a foreigner in China, they were on a bus and he saw some pine trees outside, so he pointed and said, "Christmas!". She said it wasn't until she got home that evening that she realized what he had said: "Oh! Christmas!"

We stopped by at one of the Chinese grocery stores on the way back so she could show me what to buy to make red bean or green mung bean soup. I bought all the ingredients, and she was trying to describe how to make it, but, even though it sounds simple, I'm a bit dubious. She says throw in a handful of this and a bit of that, but I complained that her hands are a lot smaller than mine. She says that all Chinese recipes are like this. "It's not like in Germany," she told me.

I might go out with Alicia and some of her other Mexican friends for tacos and dancing on Thursday. We'll see. I will definitely go with them on Sunday to the Blind Light exhibition. And on Saturday evening, I'm having Brenda and Alicia over for dinner. I haven't cooked in ages, so that'll be interesting.