“Four Seasons fill the measure of the year;
There are four seasons in the mind of man:
He has his lusty Spring, when fancy clear
Takes in all beauty with an easy span…” –John Keats, excerpt from The Human Seasons
Linguine with turnip greens and pancetta
Well, not exactly. But imagine what I could do if I were a southern boy. 
Stewed turnip greens, bacon and heirloom beans with a poached egg
dried beans (1)
bacon
onion, diced
turnip greens, washed and coarsely chopped
pinch of salt
white wine vinegar
poached egg
Soak beans in cold water for 4 hours or overnight. Alternately, place in a pot with cold water to cover by 3″. Bring to a boil, cover and remove from heat. Let stand for about an hour. Drain and rinse.
Place in a pot with water to cover by 3″. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for about an hour. Drain and set aside.
Fry bacon in a Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot until browned but not crisp and fat is rendered, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add onion and lowe heat to medium-low. Saute onion until golden brown and onion becomes translucent, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add greens, a pinch of salt and a splash of white wine vinegar. Cook partially covered for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally or until greens are tender.
Fold in beans. Check seasoning. Add liquid (either water or stock) if dry. How much depends on your taste. Cook partially covered over low heat or until beans are warmed through, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Check seasoning. Transfer to serving bowls. Top each bowl with a poached egg and serve at once.
(1) — I used rio zape beans from Rancho Gordo but any type will do.
This is the quick rendition of greens with pot likker. If I had had more time and I wasn’t starving, I’d make a huge pot with a ham bone and cook this for hours. Ya gotta do what ya gotta do.
I went to an art fair held last night in Upper East Side. It’s not every day Spamwise goes to one of these things, especially since most of the people attending were probably millionaires. I felt like a fish out of water and got out of there after spending an hour looking at stuff.
Some pix for your viewing pleasure.
Detail of the Mao “painting”
The title of this post is a reference to Andrea Strong’s review of Fatty Crab where she describes the nasi lemak as “a serious life-altering dish where chicken is slowly poached in some sort of pork fat so that it becomes “cashmere of poultry”. But don’t take it from me, read it for yourself.
Click here for a previous writeup from August 2006.
Oh, what’s that? You just want to look at the pictures? Okay, well here you go.
Fatty tea sandwiches
Malay fish fry
Kang kong belacan
Watermelon pickle and crispy pork salad
Nasi lemak
Fatty Crab isn’t my favorite restaurant in New York City. In fact, it doesn’t even come close to second tier. That said, I wouldn’t say no if you wanted to go there. The waiters provide more than adequate eye candy to make up for lack of atmosphere.
Thanks for the well-wishes folks. I’m 80% better, just the usual stuffy nose and lingering cough now.
Linguine with asparagus, fromage blanc and lemon
linguine
olive oil
cippolini onion, finely diced
asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1/4-inch lengths
pinch of red pepper flakes
lemon juice
grated lemon zest
salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
fromage blanc (1)
chives
freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for serving
In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook linguine until just al dente. Drain linguine, reserving one or two ladlefuls cooking water.
Meanwhile, in a large, deep skillet, heat olive oil until it shimmers. Add the onion and cook over moderately low heat until softened, about 3-4 minutes. Add the asparagus and crushed red pepper and cook over moderate heat until crisp-tender, about 4 minutes.
Add the linguine and the reserved cooking water to the skillet along with the lemon juice and zest. Check seasoning. Cook, stirring, until the linguine is al dente and the asparagus tender, about 1-2 minutes. Add the fromage blanc and chives. Stir to incorporate. Transfer the pasta to bowls and serve immediately, passing Parmesan cheese at the table.
(1) Goat cheese is a nice substitution.
Hardly any cooking yesterday — been sick for most of this week dealing with a sore throat/full-blown cold. I think I’m on the mend. Thank god for Nyquil, ginger tea and soup. Had takeout Indian Friday night — bhel puri, malai kofta, dal and rice.
This is NOT a blog of a vegetarian by the way.
Late night snack just before Spamwise turns into a pumpkin:
Oeuf en cocotte
unsalted butter
eggs
light cream
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
Preheat oven to 325 F.
Grease a ramekin or custard cup with unsalted butter. Break an egg inside. Top off with 1 T. light cream to prevent the egg from drying out. Add salt and pepper to taste. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until egg white has set and yolk is just beginning to harden. Serve at once.
That’s the basic recipe. Toppings include anything from chopped herbs to salsa to grated cheese to ham or crumbled chorizo…the sky’s the limit.
Better a meal of vegetables where there is love than a fattened calf with hatred. –Proverbs 15:17
Spring vegetable stew with a poached egg
asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1″ pieces (be sure to leave the tips whole)
heirloom potatoes such as Carola or Ozzette fingerlings, peeled and sliced
baby turnips, trimmed and halved
cipolinni onions, trimmed and cut into eighths
leeks (white part only), thinly sliced
ramp stalks, trimmed and chopped
ramp leaves, thinly sliced
unsalted butter
kosher salt, to taste
cracked black pepper, to taste
minced chives, lovage and parsley
Bring 2 quarts water to a boil and add a pinch of salt. Blanch all vegetables but the leeks and ramp leaves one type at a time until barely tender, then remove with a slotted spoon and immediately shock in a bowl of ice water to halt the cooking process. Reserve 2 ladlefuls of cooking water.
Saute leeks in unsalted butter until softened, about 3 minutes. Set aside.
In a large skillet, melt unsalted butter and add the reserved cooking water. Add the potatoes, onion, turnips, leeks, ramp stalks and asparagus. Cook or until vegetables are warmed through. Fold in ramp leaves. Check seasoning. Add the herbs and cook for 1 to 2 additional minutes.
Top each serving with a poached egg. Serve immediately.
I’ve finally figured out why I hate Rachael Ray. It’s not her usage of annoying catchphrases. It’s not her upbeat personality which borders on certifiable. It’s the notion that the less time you spend cooking, the better your sanity will be.
Rachael’s whole schtick is a complete meal in 30 minutes or less. Yes, that includes prep time. Forget braised short ribs in wine. Forget roast chicken with garlic and rosemary. Risotto milanese? Hah! Don’t bother with chicken and sausage gumbo. You could probably get away with half her recipes, sure, if you use convenience products and cut corners. Her version of clam chowder uses canned chicken stock and canned clams. What’s wrong with that, you ask? Over-reliance on canned goods means less quality control. There’s something to be said for cooking from scratch.
People will say, “well I don’t want to cook for three hours just to make dinner.” That’s fine; I’m not advocating that. 90% of the meals on this blog don’t require a significant time investment either, and of those that do, the oven does the work for you. Ultimately it boils down to your priorities. If you value food as sustenance, then this blog entry is probably not for you. If you care about what you eat and how its prepared, then you might want to consider that expedience is not necessarily a good thing.
Sucrine salad with roasted asparagus, Japanese turnips and poached egg
sucrine
asparagus
turnips
eggs
olive oil
white wine vinegar
kosher salt, to taste
cracked black pepper, to taste
chives
For the asparagus and turnips: Trim asparagus and turnips. Asparagus peelings can be saved for asparagus stock. If the turnips are young, they can be left unpeeled. Slice turnips into halves or quarters depending on size. Chop asparagus into 1/2″ length pieces; be sure to leave the tips whole. Toss with olive oil, kosher salt and cracked black pepper. Roast for 10 to 15 minutes in a 350 F oven. Let cool and set vegetables aside.
For the salad: Poach eggs. Lift with slotted spoon and set aside when done. Tear sucrine into bite-sized pieces. If you can’t get sucrine, butter or Bibb lettuce are good substitutes.
For the dressing: Whisk together 3 T. olive oil from the roasting pan, a splash of white wine vinegar or lemon juice and 1 teaspoon chopped chives or parsley.
Assembly: Combine sucrine, asparagus and turnips. Dress the salad; toss to coat. Top each salad serving with a poached egg, add a sprinkle of salt and pepper and serve immediately.
Heirloom potato and turnip green soup, adapted from Deborah Madison’s Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. Deborah’s version uses mustard greens and parsley; this is the same recipe except for the substitution of heirloom potatoes, turnip greens and lovage.
My best day ever since starting this here website thingy was Sunday, 3 February 2008 wherein I had 846 page views for some inexplicable reason.
My second best day was yesterday — 302 views of which 143 were from JMG with this entry receiving 178 page views alone. Click here for Part 1 and here for Part 3. You know you want to. 
Not bad for a blog that rarely features any skin.
Some people collect comic books like this blogger I happened to meet at HK Lounge. Some people collect porn DVDs. I collect cookbooks but only when the mood strikes me. I already know what my next two acquisitions will be when I can afford them — Chez Panisse Fruits by Alice Waters and Jewish Cooking in America by Joan Nathan. I can probably get both at The Strand for pretty cheap come to think of it.
My newest acquisition is a copy of Deborah Madison’s “Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone“. Now, I’m not about to become a vegetarian (looks at Eric and Homer); it’s just that I love vegetable cookery. I also need inspiration besides hanging out on eGullet and Google.
Menu is subject to change of course…
Monday — Leftovers
Tuesday — Potato and turnip green soup, sucrine salad with a poached egg and herbs
Wednesday — Spring vegetable ragout, sourdough baguette
Thursday — Leftovers
Friday — Black bean soup; coconut rice with lime and Indian spices
Saturday — Roast chicken, sides TBD
Sunday — Leftovers
