Scallops Provencal with Winter Squash Timbales

"Cooking is an art and patience a virtue... Careful shopping, fresh ingredients and an unhurried approach are nearly all you need. There is one more thing - love. Love for food and love for those you invite to your table. With a combination of these things you can be an artist - not perhaps in the representational style of a Dutch master, but rather more like Gauguin, the naïve, or Van Gogh, the impressionist. Plates or pictures of sunshine taste of happiness and love."  - Keith Floyd, ‘A Feast of Floyd’

What a delicious, sumptuous meal - light, but very satisfying with lovely flavors, texture and color.

Scallops Provencal

My favorite way of cooking scallops. Thank you to Ina Garten for Barefoot in Paris - Easy French Food You Can Make at Home. I adapted her recipe to accommodate my black pepper-free, gluten-free diet.

Ingredients:

1 pound large sea scallops, rinsed, pat dry and sliced in half horizontally

Sea Salt

Cayenne Pepper

All-purpose Gluten-Free Flour, for dredging

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted Butter, divided into pats

1/2 cup Shallots (2 large)

1 clove Garlic, minced

1/4 flat-leaf Parsley, chopped

1/3 cup dry white Wine

1 Lemon, halved

Directions:

1. Sprinkle the scallops with salt and cayenne pepper, then toss with the flour. Shake off the excess flour and set aside on a plate.
2. Heat a large sauté pan on medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of the butter and place the scallops in a single layer in pan and lightly brown on one side, then lightly brown on the other side. This takes no more than a few minutes in all.
3. Melt the remaining butter in the pan along with the scallops, adding the shallots, garlic, parsley and sauté for another couple of minutes, tossing the seasonings with the scallops.
4. Add the wine, continue cooking for only another minute. Taste for seasoning.
5. Serve hot with a fresh squeeze of lemon on each serving.
6. Serves 2

Winter Squash Timbales (a dish formed in a mold or ramekin)

Thank you to my daughter for sharing this recipe, which she gleaned from The Vegan Table (page 236). A wonderful fall and wintertime side dish that is colorful, textured and nutritious!

Ingredients:

2 cups winter Squash, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

2-1/2 cups Vegetable Stock (I use vegetarian bouillon and water)

1 cup Arborio Rice (do not rinse, and stir often)

1/4-1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt (depends how salty vegetable stock is)

1 tablespoon Olive Oil for sautéing 

1 large yellow Onion, finely chopped

1 teaspoon minced Garlic

2 tablespoons fresh Parsley, finely chopped

1 teaspoon fresh Thyme, finely chopped

2-3 tablespoons of sun-dried Tomatoes, finely chopped

Cayenne Pepper to taste (or Black Pepper)

1/4 cup Pine Nuts, toasted for garnish (optional)

Kale, washed, dried, chopped and steamed or sauteed

[Note: I used my food processor for the onion, then again to chop the garlic, parsley thyme, sun-dried tomato together. Worked nicely and saved time.]

Directions:

1. Lightly oil 4 ramekins, or oven-proof bowls or pans that can hold 1-1/4 cups.
2. Steam cubed squash until tender (10-12 minutes). Place in a medium to large mixing bowl.
3. In a large sauce pan, bring to a boil the rice in the vegetable stock. Add salt. Cover and reduce heat to low, cooking until the rice is tender, for about 20 minutes. Some liquid should remain. Stir often. Arborio rice becomes very thick.
4. In a large sauté pan, heat the oil on medium heat. Add the onion, sautéing until it starts to turn golden brown and translucent (about 5 minutes). Add the thyme, parsley and garlic and sun-dried tomato mixture, cooking another couple of minutes, then stir in the cooked squash. Remove mixture from heat.
5. To make the timbales, place 1/4 of the vegetable mixture in the bottom on each ramekin - pressing down gently to compact. Top with rice, once again pressing down to compact.
6. When ready to serve, run a knife along the inside edge of the ramekins and invert each one atop a bed of freshly steamed or sautéed kale on each dinner plate.
7. Garnish with the pine nuts and black pepper optional. I use Cayenne.
8. Serve as a side dish with Scallops Provencal. 

Bon Appetit!

Failed Vegan Experiment - "Chowders On!"

Well, it was nearly a year ago that we took the challenge to go vegan, and failed I might add. Now that we live on the Olympic Peninsula, we are able to enjoy the bounty of the Puget Sound, simply by walking onto nearby beaches to harvest oysters and clams, go crabbing with friends and enjoy fresh-caught fish anytime we want when they are in season. 

We have easily given up everything else that is animal protein-based, except for the occasional grating or slice of cheese. Our dairy substitutes are coconut, almond and rice milk products. We get our fats primarily from olive oil, nuts and seeds and their butters.

Back in 2009, I posted two crab recipes with links to other variations. I recommend you try them. Tonight, we are cooking up a batch of crab chowder from DZ's catch the other day. 

If you have a shellfish license in the State of Washington, you are able harvest five regulation-size crabs a day during crabbing season.

I'm hearing "Chowder's on!" coming from the kitchen... be back shortly to post our recipe.

 Absolutely fabulous! Could be served in the finest seafood restaurant anywhere in the world.

Manhattan Crab Chowder - Gluten-Free

Manhattan Crab Chowder

Total Time: 40 minutes

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

Water to cover Potatoes
3 cups precooked diced Potatoes

1 pint of Water

2 tablespoons "Organic Better Than Bouillon" Vegetable Base (paste)

2 teaspoons Italian Seasoning Blend

1 heaping teaspoon Fennel Seed
1/8 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper or 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground Black Pepper (optional)
2 tablespoons Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
1 cup chopped Onion
4 cloves chopped Garlic
2 large fresh Tomatoes, chopped
3/4 pound Crabmeat (and/or cubed, bite-size pieces of white Fish, Clams...)


Directions

1. Diced potatoes and cover with water in a 3-quart saucepan.
2. Bring to a boil, and boil for 15 minutes.
3. In a 1-quart saucepan, add a pint of water, 2 heaping tablespoons of the vegetable base. Add fennel seed, Italian seasoning, salt and the optional pepper.
4. Boil for a couple of minutes.
5. In a 4-5 quart stockpot, add the olive oil, diced onion, chopped garlic and tomatoes.
6. Pour the cooked potatoes along with the potato water over all. 
7. Next, pour the ingredients from the small sauce pan into the stock pot. 
8. Simmer for about 5 minutes, then stir in the crab meat (and/or other seafood). 
9. Simmer for another 5 minutes and serve hot.

Turn this into a fabulous seafood stew/cioppino by adding to the crab a combination of clams, mussels, shrimp, white fish....

Like to see my mussels?

I thought I'd show you my mussels... all 2-1/2 pounds of them.

Following Aunt Jo's recipe from Recipes for the Specific Carbohydrate Diet by Raman Prasad on page 126 and directions from the Internet about preparing the mussels for steaming... this is how I adapted the recipe with detailed directions for cleaning prior to cooking and when to remove them from the pot.

Rinse the mussels several times in water, but do not soak them, as fresh water kills them and if they are already dead when you go to steam them they will not open up. If their is a beard (fibrous string) attached, gently pull or cut it off before steaming.

Ingredients:

2--1/2 to 3 pounds of washed mussels, or clams or a combination of both
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon oregano
1/4 cup vegetable or olive oil
Pinch of red pepper flakes
Melted butter, for dipping (optional)

Directions:

1. Placed the washed mussels in a large, deep pot.
2. Add the remaining ingredients, except for the butter, and toss with the mussels to coat.
   
3. Cover and cook on medium-high heat with the lid on, until the mixture begins to boil. Note that there is little water in the pot, but the mussels release more liquid as they begin to cook and open.
4. As soon as the water is boiling, creating steam, lower the temperature to medium and simmer until the mussels are open, approximately 3-5 minutes. I recommend that you remove the lid and begin to pull individual mussels out with tongs as soon as each one opens to prevent them from getting tough.
5. Discard any mussels that do not open.
6. Serve the mussels while hot with melted butter for dipping (optional).

Serves 2-3

Broth with herbs, garlic and olive oil.

Toss mussels in mixture to coat before steaming.

Serve hot. Set out an extra plate to collect the shells.

Broiled Razor Clams

I find it interesting how hard it is to find variations on razor clam recipes. Even the seafood cookbooks I have in my kitchen seem to have overlooked these delectable, nutty-flavored shellfish. I've enjoyed razor clams since I was a young girl, mostly ordering in restaurants, pan-fried or chopped up and served in New England clam chowder.

Tonight, I tried something different. I made Rich's Broiled Baked Razor Clams from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife:

You will need: Razor clams, cleaned. (The fresher the better)

Eggs, beaten (however many you need for your egg wash).
Ritz Crackers, regular kind (not the low-fat or low-sodium varieties), crushed. Enough to coat the clams.
Butter, melted. (Margarine works)

Preparation: Turn your oven broiler on to high. It needs to be HOT.

1. Dip the cleaned clams in the egg wash.
2. Coat well with crushed Ritz crackers ( I used crushed sesame rice crackers (gluten-free).
3. Lay the clams out, single layer, on a greased baking sheet. (Lining the sheet with foil first makes easier clean up).
4. Drizzle the clams with melted butter, more or less to taste. (Without it you’ll get dry clams).

5. I sprinkled garlic salt and paprika over the top (optional).

Cooking:

1. Put the pan on the top oven rack under the HOT broiler.
2. Broil 3 minutes. Turn over. Broil 3 more minutes, and they’re done. Avoid over-cooking or the clams get rubbery.

The key is a HOT broiler or oven. You can do this in a HOT (500-degree) oven, without having to turn the clams over, but I’m not sure of the time. I prefer the broiler, thank you.

Done right, the clams are fork tender. And with no grease or oil spatter and mess from a frying pan, you’ll probably never want to fry a clam again!

Rich Daneker, KXRO Radio, Aberdeen, Wash.

It's true. I never want to fry razor clams again! They were delicious.

Earlier in the day, I received an unexpected gift box in the from a friend in Idaho... a half-dozen bottles of fine wine from Bitner Vineyards in the Snake River Valley appellation. The 2007 Reserve Riesling was wonderful to pair with our meal. I venture to say that it is the best Riesling I've ever tasted. I met Ron Bitner while doing business with him and his colleague a couple of years ago, and discovered that Ron is not only an amazing vintner, but an international bee biologist, educator and ecopreneur before it became fashionable. Bitner Vineyards has been named 2009 Idaho Winery of the Year by Wine Press Northwest.