Honing

Every new week here in the FN kitchen begins with a ritual - the honing of my knives.  It is a ritual because the act is rich with not only practicality, but with metaphor as well.
A dull knife is a dangerous knife. 
No seriously, a very sharp knife is much safer than a dull one.  A sharp knife is predictable, controllable, and efficient. A dull knife will require extra effort leading to fatigue and susceptibility to distraction.  Additionally, a dull knife will shear unexpectedly off of dense ingredients and mash up fine ones.  A sharp knife will do what you wish and expect, and is a pleasure to use producing well prepared, finely cut ingredients.
Scouring
So every Monday commences with a survey of my tools and a scraping away of the past week.  I wet my stone, tilt the blades, and begin the circular motion necessary to sharpen my blades.  All the previous week's drops, nicks, and jostlings are polished off.  The many cuts that were made, the cleavings, pareings, trimming - all that work has passed and it and it is time to grind away those efforts and create a clean the edge for new work.
Refining Skill
For me the knife is like an extra hand, and a pen at the same time.  I can feel through my knife and use that feeling to work more efficiently and safely. It is the primary tool of my work and the one with which I have the most intimate contact; the palm is a sacred place and through it the knife is connected to my will, and makes manifest my level of competence.  Weekly honing of the knives reminds me that each week is a test of all my kitchen skills.  Not only sharpening itself, but also menu planning, shopping efficiency and frugality, prep cooking, food safety, final assembly, special diet accommodations, pack-out and at-home translation, then clean-up.  But sharpening the knives, and the subsequent resetting of myself to a new start each week, is the foundational skill without which all other pieces cannot fall correctly into place.  One of my favorite proverbs of warning is "He has many knives, none is sharp" (China).

P.S. I love my knives. Most were given to me second-hand by Chef John Vink, under whom I first apprenticed . They are Forschner knives of lazer cut Swiss (Victorinoix) steel and cost about $30 apiece.  They are the consistent winner of Cook's Illustrated's knife comparisons, and I highly recommend them.  

Cold Noodles and Hot Perogies

Meal 1: Cold Peanut Noodles, Stir Fried Vegetables & Grilled Tofu

• Warm the tofu on a cookie sheet in the oven at 425 for 5-10 minutes, or in the microwave.

• Carefully remove the noodles to a mixing bowl without inverting the container. Add a little hot water to the remaining sauce to warm it and make it workable. You may try a microwave to warm it, but be careful to not boil it. Mix the sauce and add to the noodles, stirring to incorporate.

• Add a little oil to a hot pan and briefly stir fry the vegetables. Add a splash of water to steam them through. Serve atop or beside the noodles.

Meal 2: Potato Perogies, Parsnip-Leek Soup, Organic Red and Green Leaf Lettuce Salad

• Heat the soup on the stovetop and dress the salad

• Melt some butter and a little veg oil in a sauté pan. Alternately use some schmaltz or even bacon fat if you have it. Heat to medium high and add the perogies. Allow to brown richly on one side before turning (about 3 minutes) and cooking on the other side. Serve hot with yogurt and some sautéed onions if you like.

NOTES:

• For comfort food you really can't beat home made perogies stuffed with Blue Moon potato. And that Parsnip-Leek soup is a nice stick-to-the-ribs foil.
• The Napa cabbage, hakuri turnips, and carrots in the stir fry are all Blue Moon too - this is the time of year all our advance buying starts to really pay dividends.
• We also love to sautee up some greens with the perogies as a side.  Consider spinach or especially kale.
• Please send me some feedback of how the noodles turn out.  I was a little unsure of how to best package it.  In the past, dressing it all here and sending it out compromised the texture of the sauce if refrigerated overnight.

Old World Comforts and New World Wonders

Meal 1:Spinach and Chevre Manicotti, Escarole and Kale Salad, Semolina Loaves
• Warm the Manicotti in the oven at 350 for 10-15 minutes, or until hot. Warm the bread too.
• Toss and dress the salad.
Meal 2: Acorn Squash Soup, Tortilla Pie, and a Mezoamerican Medley of Brown Rice, Quinoa, and Amaranth
• Heat the soup; and warm the tortilla casserole in the oven, 325 for 15-20 minutes until warmed, and the cheese is melted. Be careful to not burn it.
• Serve the rice medley at room temp or warm it in a sauté pan with a little oil and a splash of water to steam it though.

Notes:

• The manicotti are actually a rolled crepe filled with Blue Moon spinach and Prairie Fruits chevre.
• Look for the amaranth in the mix, they are the very tiny translucent orbs.  I really like the overall texture of the mix as well as the nutritious flavor which belies the high protein and mineral value of both the quinoa and the amaranth.  All three grains are cooked together, making these high value grain dishes easy and incredibly good for you.
• Given that we had to push things to get an early delivery out to beat the storm - this was the worst possible menu for me to plan.  Lots of little details, multiple steps, a baked item, and two assemble dishes.  So, I hope you find comfort in these dishes on the stormy, cold nights.

Falafil and Two Curries

Meal 1:Falafil Croquette, Cous Cous with Sesame and Apricot, Moroccan Carrot Salad


• Heat the croquettes in the oven at 350 for 10-15 minutes, or until hot. Serve with some yogurt and or tahini on top if you like.
• Serve the carrots chilled, but season with salt, as we omitted this ingredient to prevent wateriness.
• Serve the cous cous at room temp, or heat in a sauté pan with a little oil and then a splash of water to heat it through.

Meal 2: Curried Potatoes and Spinach, Dal Makhani, Kichirri

WARNING! Indian foods contain whole spices such as peppercorn or cardamom. Chew carefully and avoid them. Don’t worry about the small spices.
• Heat the curry and dal separately, in saucepans. Do not over heat the curry or the spinach will overcook.
• Heat the kichirri in a sauté pan with a generous splash of oil. Stir the rice mixture, add a splash of water to steam it through. Transfer the kichirri to serving plates and serve the curry and dal atop the kichirri.

Escarole Soup and Pad Tahi

Meal 1:White Bean and Escarole Soup, Peasant Batard, Whole Wheat Penne with Red Pepper-Chevre Sauce

• Warm the soup in a saucepan just to a simmer. Be careful to not over cook the escarole.
• Warm the noodles in the oven at 325 for 15 minutes, or until hot. Warm the bread too.

Meal 2: Sweet Potato Noodle Pad Thai and Sticky Rice Envelopes
• Heat the rice envelopes in a steamer basket (5 min.), or in a microwave with a little water under them. If you don’t have a steamer, place a plate atop a saucer in a sauce pot. Add some water, place the package atop the plate, cover the pot, heat and steam for about 5 minutes.
• Pad Thai: Rinse the noodles to loosen them and then drain them very well. Heat some oil in a sauté pan. When the oil is hot, carefully add the noodles and stir fry them. They will spatter so be careful. Next add the ‘meat’ sauce and a little water if necessary to mix the two. Next, fold in the vegetables, heat for a minute or two more and serve immediately.

Notes:

• Escarole soup is one of my all time favorites, something aboout those succulent, green leaves with their juxtaposition of sweet and bitter that I just love.  Classic in authentic Italian cuisine, I had my first bowl at Ralphs in Philadelphia's Italian Market.
• Our version of Pad Thai uses sweet potato noodles.  Just rinse them before pan frying and they are almost stick free!

Quinoa Enchiladas and Spinach Soup

Meal 1:Spinach Soup, White Beans with Roasted Red Peppers and Escarole Salad
• Warm the soup in a saucepan just to a simmer.
• Serve the white beans at room temp and dress and serve the salad.

Meal 2: Spinach, Butternut & Quinoa Enchiladas with Rice and Beans
• Heat the Enchiladas at 350 until warm – about 15 minutes.
• The rice and beans: Heat a little oil in a sauce pan. Add the beans and rice and then enough water to make things just ‘soupy.’ Allow the dish to come to a simmer and stir until the rice and beans thicken a bit into a porridge-like consistency, maybe 5 minutes. Add some butter if you like and hot sauce etc. Serve hot.

Notes:

• Very disapponted in the color of the spinach soup.  Usually it preserves a nice green color as opposed to the Government Issue version I made this week.  I pureed it while too hot.
• I hope you enjoy the enchiladas.  The sauce is one of our favorites and between the quinoa, spinach and beans, its hard to imagine a warm supper better for you!

Sneak peek...

French Lentils, Potato Croquettes, & Acorn Squash

Meal 1:French Lentil Soup, Fingerling Potato Wedges, Spinach Salad
• Warm the soup in a saucepan. Thin if necessary.
• Warm the wedges in the oven at 350 until hot and a little sizzly – 10 minutes.
• Dress and serve the salad.

Meal 2: Potato and Spinach Croquettes, Three Bean Salad, Roasted Acorn Squash
• Remove the squash from the container with the croquettes and place them in an ovensafe dish. Sprinkle with some brown sugar or maple syrup if you like. Heat at 350 until warm – about 10 minutes.
• Warm the croquettes in the oven at 350 until hot – about 10 minutes.
• Serve the bean salad at room temp.

Notes:

• Its worth taking a moment to add some sweets to the acorn squash.  Butter too.  We are short of containers, sorry we had to squish these in with the croquettes, hopefully they transport well.