What We Crave on a Rainy Day

Even though I love to travel and explore, I am really a homebody inside. I like to be home, gather my friends around me, and cook for them in the warmth of my kitchen. It is especially true these days as my parents are with us once again for a few weeks. It is crowded, noisy with children craving their attention, but most of all, joyous.

My parents really are the best house guests ever - my kids' faces say it all.



"Did you already make a list?" my mom asked over the phone as she was getting ready to board the plane. She knows I always have a grocery list - of course I do! I am always cooking and shopping for food. "I am craving soups" I told her a few hours later. She had just deplaned and I was already sharing my cravings for food. She agreed. I knew then we would be lots of soups.

We loaded up on celery root, fennel, sweet potatoes, different varieties of winter squash, legumes (we are making my favorite garbanzo and cabbage soup this week), apples, pears, and all things autumn on our first visit to the market.



The rainy weather for the past few days has been the perfect excuse to stay home and cook. Even the kids love to help out in the kitchen as Miren's new favorite activity is to whisk eggs for me. We let her sit on the kitchen counter while she beats the eggs for waffles and muffins, and Jon carefully stirs the soup. My mom guides them through the process. They seem to listen to her more than they listen to me. It makes me smile.



We cooked a celery root, fennel, and sweet potato soup that we served with almond and parsley pesto. It is one of my new favorites. I can never get enough of celery root.

Also caramelized onion, fennel, and purple potato tarts in a buckwheat crust. So delicious. This buckwheat crust recipe is from the book so I cannot share it with you just yet, but do make these tarts with whatever other crust you like. I beg you -- make them. You will thank me. So easy and so good.

For dessert, chocolate and pistachio cakes. We also made fig and red currant custard with hazelnuts. This one is sweet and really silky. Both are adaptations of recipes from the book. Believe me, I am recipe testing every chance I get.



My mom and I will continue with our obsession to cook. We cannot help ourselves. Are you the same way?

Oh and yes... I am still waiting for autumn to arrive. Sooner than later, please.

Celery Root, Fennel, and Sweet Potato Soup with Almond Parsley Pesto

Almond and Parsley Pesto

1 clove garlic
1/4 cup blanched almonds
1 cup fresh parsley leaves
3 Tbs grated Idiazabal cheese
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup olive oil

In the food processor, finely chop the garlic and almonds. Add the parsley and chop until it turns into a chunky paste. Add the Idiazabal and salt and process until combined. Drizzle in the olive oil while processing until it turns into a thick paste. Reserve.

Celery Root, Fennel and Sweet Potato Soup

serves 4 to 6

2 Tbs olive oil
1/2 medium onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 medium fennel bulb, diced
2 medium celery roots, peeled and diced
2 japanese sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 russet potato, peeled and diced
3 sprigs thyme
1 quart chicken stock
salt and pepper

In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, and fennel. Stir and cook for 5 minutes.

Add the celery root, sweet potato, potato, thyme, and chicken stock. Bring liquid to a boil over medium high heat, reduce heat to medium low, cover the pot, and cook for 15 minutes until vegetables are tender. Puree in a blender. Add water if soup is too chunky. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve the soup with the almond and parsley pesto.


Purple Potato and Caramelized Fennel Tarts

makes six 4-inch tartlets or one 9-inch tart

1 batch of your favorite savory tart dough (see this or this)
2 Tbs olive oil
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 medium fennel bulb, thinly sliced
3/4 tsp salt, plus more for topping
1/2 tsp black pepper, plus more for topping
2 sprigs thyme
1 lb (450g) small purple potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced (with a mandoline)
Sprouts or microgreens, for garnish (optional)

Preheat oven to 400F (200C).

Roll your tart dough to 1/4 to 1/8" thickness. Fill your tart pans with the dough. Chill the dough while preparing the filling.

In a large saute pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the sliced onion and fennel. Season with salt, pepper, and thyme. Cook the vegetables until tender and slightly caramelized, about 8 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly.

Fill the tarts with the caramelized onion and fennel mixture. Top with the purple potatoes slices overlapping.

Bake the tarts for 40 minutes or until the potatoes are crispy and the crust is cooked. Sprinkle potatoes with a bit of salt and pepper and serve with some sprouts or microgreens. Serve warm or at room temperature.

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What We Crave on a Rainy Day

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How To Stay Cool

Summer approaches and the heat is already getting to me.

This is the time when all I can think about is fresh fruit, chilled soups, salads, and lots and lots of sorbet pops.



I bought the first saturn peaches of the season a few days ago. They are nature's candy, if you ask me. (I seem to say that about all fruit, don't I?). Soft, full of water, and sweet. We have been enjoying them sliced for breakfast every morning.

"Let's make an orange and peach smoothie" Jon asked. It hit the spot after we came back from a swim.




It has been so hot that I barely turn on the oven at home. We grilled outside and I made a few salads with ingredients from the farm.

The kids and I went to pick tomatoes at the farm early in the morning. I guided them on which ones to pick and they quickly got the hang of it. Even as early as nine in the morning, it was unbearable to stand out in the sun, and we left quickly, just after saying hello to the baby goats and chickens.



Back at home, we turned the tomatoes into a mid morning snack. Drizzle of olive oil, squeeze of lemon juice, and a touch of pink salt.

For lunch, a refreshing red lentil, salmon, radish, and fennel salad inspired by a recipe I had seen at Elle à Table.

"No dessert?" C. asked. "It's too hot to bake" I replied.

All I got was a look.



So I pulled out some mulberries from the freezer and made a quick batch of mulberry, millet and poppy seed cakes. And to take advantage that the oven was on, I ended up baking a galette with leftover tart dough from a recipe for the book, saturn peaches,and raspberries.



And summer is almost here.

Mulberry, Millet and Poppy Seed Cakes

Makes 18 cakes

1/2 cup superfine brown rice flour
1/2 cup millet flour
1/3 cup almond flour
1/4 cup potato starch
2 Tbs tapioca starch
1 Tbs poppy seeds
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup natural cane sugar
1/3 cup applesauce
1/3 cup coconut milk
1 Tbs lemon juice
1/3 cup melted ghee
1/2 cup mulberries (mine were frozen)

Pre-heat oven to 350F.

In a large bowl, whisk together the first nine ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together the rest of wet ingredients. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until incorporated. Fold in the mulberries.

Pour the batter into muffin molds lined with baking papers. bake for 18 to 20 minutes until a skewer inserted in the center comes out dry.

Cool in the pan for 5 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack. Store them in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

Red Lentil, Salmon and Fennel Salad

Serves 4

1 cup red lentils, rinsed several times
8 ounces sockeye salmon
5 Tbs olive oil
1 medium fennel bulb, thinly sliced
6 radishes, thinly sliced
Arugula
Watercress
1 Tbs lemon juice
1 tsp dijon mustard
Salt and pepper

Place the lentils in a medium saucepan and cover them with cold water plus 1 inch. Bring the liquid to a boil, reduce heat to medium low, cover the pot, and cook the lentils for 8 minutes until they are al dente. Drain them and rinse them in cold water. Reserve.

In a medium saute pan, heat 1 Tbs of live oil over medium heat. Season the salmon with salt and pepper. Place the salmon skin side down. Cook for 3 minutes. Turn it over and cook it for 1 to 2 minutes longer depending on the thickness. Turn onto a clean plate and let it cool. When cool enough to handle, flake it with a fork and reserve.

In a large bowl, toss together the red lentils, salmon, fennel, radishes and greens. Make a quick vinaigrette with the dijon, lemon juice and 1/4 cup olive oil. Drizzle the vinaigrette over the salad. Season with salt and pepper. Toss well and serve in glass jars.

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How To Stay Cool

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Apple, Gruyere and Sage Muffins and a Childhood Soup

When autumn and winter come around, I become even more nostalgic (is that even possible?) of certain smells and foods of my childhood. I remember clearly walking around my grandparents' garden puling fresh leeks right off the ground. We would take bunches and bunches home every Sunday. My dad's car smelled of leeks all winter long.



If there is one traditional soup in the Basque Country, it must be porrusalda or leek soup. It is peasant food and the soup all of us grew up eating. Believe it or not, I seem to have been a picky eater as a child. I do not remember much about it, but I often times hear it from my mom. "You despised vegetables", she tells me. Funny how life is. So my mom made sure to puree all soups for me to get me to eat as many vegetables as possible.

I have to admit that texture has stuck with me as I do love creamy and slightly chunky soups. When cooler weather comes around, I eat soup almost every single day.



I made this variation of porrusalda this week when the skies were dark and stormy. We were under a tropical storm warning for two days so we stayed in for the most part. A simple soup with leeks, garlic, potatoes and butternut squash. Slightly sweet so I decided to make some cheesy muffins to go with it.



I keep dreaming of my uncle's apple orchard where we spent so much time this late summer. Apple goodness everywhere. Eating them raw and preparing them in a million different ways.

I thought it would be great to have a savory kind of cake to go with the soup and I love the combination of apples, gruyere and sage. The muffins are moist, sweet and salty at the same time. Serve the soup with a little sour cream, black pepper and olive oil. Perfect comfort food.



Apple, Gruyere and Sage Muffins

makes 6 muffins plus a loaf

1 cup (150 grams) superfine brown rice flour
1/2 cup (75 grams)millet flour
2 Tbs (30 grams) potato starch
2 Tbs (20 grams) tapioca starch
1/3 cup (70 grams) cane sugar
1 tsp (8 grams) baking powder
1/2 tsp (3 grams) baking soda
1/2 tsp (5 grams) salt
1/4 tsp xanthan gum
1 Tbs fresh sage, finely chopped
1 cup (55 grams) shredded Gruyere
1 egg
1 cup (250 ml) buttermilk
1/4 cup (55 ml) olive oil
2 apples, peeled and small diced
Extra shredded Gruyere for topping

In a large bowl, whisk together the first 11 ingredients. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, buttermilk and olive oil. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until combined. Fold in the diced apples.

Scoop batter into molds. Bake at 400F for 20 minutes for the muffins and 40 minutes for the loaf.

Leek, Butternut Squash and Potato Soup

2 Tbs olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup (1/2 leek), diced
2 cups butternut squash, diced
2 potatoes, diced
1 tsp salt
3 cups chicken stock (or water)
Black pepper
Sour cream, optional

In a medium pot, saute the leeks in the olive oil for about 2 minutes. Do not let them brown. Add the squash and potatoes and saute them for another minute. Add the chicken stock and salt. Bring it to a boil and then reduce heat to medium and cook them covered for about 20 minutes.

Puree the soup and taste it. Adjust seasoning if needed. Serve with cracked black pepper and sour cream.

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Purple Corn Muffins and Poached Salmon Salad

Living far away from home means that I don't always get to enjoy the subtleties of my family's and friends' everyday lives. I miss the everyday hellos on the street and the "vamos a tomar un cafe?" exchanges. Proximity, even with silence, is enough sometimes.

I have noticed recently that those phone conversations with friends always end up with talks about food. Not food in general, no. Detailed descriptions of what we have been eating, what new foods we have discovered, what "el gordo" cooked on yesterday's show... I mean it goes on and on.



Recently, I have been very conscious and mindful about what I eat. Rather than focusing on things I cannot have, I have been focusing on things I should be incorporating into my diet. Always learning about new foods and their benefits (learning tons from Sarah Wilson I must say).

And it was in one of the hundreds of late night Twitter chats I always have with Y, where she told me about the purple corn she bought. I had seen blue corn before, but had never had the purple kind. Come to find out, it is widely used in Peru where my good friend P. is from.



The next morning when I saw P., I bombarded her with questions and she told me about the different purple corn dishes her grandmother used to make for her as a child.

I immediately ordered some organic purple corn online and couldn't wait to cook with it. I made some breakfast purple corn porridge, mazamorra morada and these purple corn and banana muffins. The muffins are sweet and good for you. Can you believe that?



I actually served the muffins with a large salad of greens, fingerlings, snap peas and salmon to make one satisfying lunch.

I warmed up some olive oil and infused a bunch of mint and thyme into it. Then slowly poached the salmon in the oil for a few minutes, just like my grandmother used to do with bacalao. Served with with watercress, baby romaine, arugula, blanched snap peas and super buttery fingerlings. Salt, olive oil and lemon.

So simple and abundant.



Gluten Free Purple Corn and Banana Muffins

makes about a dozen and a half muffins

3 eggs
50 grams (1/4 cup) organic cane sugar
280 grams (1 cup) ripe bananas, pureed
125 grams (3/4 cup) vegetable oil
25 grams (2 Tbs) coconut milk (can use whole milk if you like)
75 grams (1/2 cup) superfine brown rice flour
20 grams (2 Tbs) potato starch
20 grams (2 Tbs) tapioca starch
100 grams (3/4 cup) purple cornmeal
25 grams (1 Tbs + 2 tsp) baking powder
3 grams (1/2 tsp) salt
1 gram (1/2 tsp) xanthan gum

Whisk together the eggs, sugar, bananas and milk. In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Add the liquids to the dry and mix until combined.

Divide the batter into your baking cups and bake at 350F for about 15-18 minutes depending on the size.


Poached Salmon, Snap Pea and Fingerling Potato Salad

makes 2 servings

2 cups of mixed greens (watercress, baby romaine, arugula, herbs)
1 cup of fingerling potatoes
1 cup of snap peas
8 oz (225g) salmon
Olive oil for poaching
Thyme
Mint
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
1 Tbs freshly squeezed lemon juice
Large pinch salt

Place the potatoes in a pan and cover them with water. Bring them to a boil and cook until fork tender. Drain and peel them. I like to serve them when they are lukewarm in the salad as they absorb more of the dressing this way.

Blanch the snap peas in salted boiling water for about 1 minute. Drain them and shock them in ice water. Reserve.

Place olive oil (enough to cover the salmon almost all the way up) in a small pan. Add some thyme and mint leaves to the oil and let it steep in medium low heat for a few minutes. Season the salmon with salt and pepper. Add the pieces of salmon and reduce the heat to low. There might be a little sizzle but must be gentle. Let the salmon cook for about 5-7 minutes, depending on the thickness, until it turns pale pink.

Remove the salmon from the oil. Let it cool on a plate. When cool enough to handle, remove the skin and flake it with a fork.

Place the greens, snap peas, cut fingerlings and salmon on a plate. Drizzle with olive oil, lemon juice and salt. Toss and taste to adjust seasoning.

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Purple Corn Muffins and Poached Salmon Salad

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