Pearled Barley Porridge with Prosciutto and Eggs

This was my first time poaching an egg. Turns out I love it this style. Especially on this barley, totally unexpected, and such a wintry hearty dish. KP and I have been having the best Advent season, despite my working unprecedented hours in the new hospital ICU. Before the craziness started at the beginning of the month, we built two towers of 24-chamber boxes (using wine cases, reinforced with cardboard and lots of tape.) Into each box, we tucked away a daily surprise.

Like an advent calendar for kids with waxy chocolate, but for adults, it’s like getting to open a stocking 24 times before Christmas Eve. Such fun!

Pearled Barley Porridge with Prosciutto and Eggs

Adapted from Food and Wine

1 cup apple cider

3 cups low-sodium chicken broth

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 onions, thinly sliced

Kosher salt

2 ounces prosciutto, sliced thin and ripped into small pieces

2 cups pearled barley

2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce

4 large eggs, poached

Thinly sliced scallions, for serving

In a large saucepan, combine the cider, broth, and two cups of water, bring to a boil. The original recipe has you steep a kombu leaf (some kind of nasty seaweed thing) for 40 minutes, which of course I chose not to do. But I boiled the broth anyway, more because my chicken broth (homemade) seemed on the edge of stank.

Wipe out the saucepan and melt the butter in it. Add the onions, season with salt and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 20 minutes. Add the prosciutto and cook for 3 minutes. Stir in the barley, soy sauce and cider broth and bring to a boil.

Cover and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the barley is porridge-like, about one hour. Season with salt.

Spoon the porridge into bowls and top with the eggs. Garnish with scallions; serve. Seriously, improbable how good this was.

Haiku #343 December 9^th

If my intern-ness

were a steaming pile of doo,

I fell on face first.

Haiku #344 December 10^th

Too many requests

on my time and attention

All the nagging beeps.

Haiku #345 December 11^th

Man and wife seated

at a white linen table

for a nice dinner.

Haiku #346 December 12^th

For each other an

advent calendar, so we

feel the unfolding.

Haiku #347 December 13^th

There is that kind of

love in these wards—in darkest

hallways, miracles.

Fudge Nut Cake for National Brownie Day

Who decides today is National Brownie Day? The internet in its intrusive way alerted me to this today. I mean, of course I am grateful and all too eager to celebrate brownies, any day. But does this mean that any person can up and decide that any day is a national holiday?

What if I wanted tomorrow to be National Bulldog Frown day?

National Little Red Hen holiday ornament day? (one Izzy has not yet eaten, thankfully)

National new bathrobe day. (I’ll spare the picture because I look ravaged in it after my little night float stint in ICU).

Great, all good ideas. The autonomy to celebrate is one of the reasons I chose to move to New Orleans. This place reminds its residents that anyone can decide today is a holiday. Each and every moment is toastable. You can have a parade on a Tuesday in your own honor, should you have the gusto, the friends, the beads the band and the umbrellas. And the day off—which, in fact, I do. Happy brownie day. #onedayoffaweeksucks.

Fudge Nut Cake (worst name ever, teehee)

Adapted from Penzeys Spices

3 sticks (1 1/2 Cups) butter, melted and cooled

2 1/2 Cups sugar

1 TB. vanilla

6 large eggs

1 TB. instant coffee crystals or espresso powder (I use Starbucks kind)

1 1/2 Cups all-purpose flour

1 Cup cocoa powder

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 Cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 Cup chopped pecans or walnuts (when given the choice, I ALWAY choose pecans)

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 9×13 baking dish and set aside. In a large bowl, combine the melted butter, sugar and vanilla and mix well. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring or whisking after each addition. Stir in the coffee or espresso powder. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder and cinnamon. Stir into the wet ingredients until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips. Spread the batter in the pan and sprinkle with nuts. Bake at 350° for 40-45 minutes or until the cake begins to pull away from the sides of the pan. Let cool completely before cutting or the cake will crumble apart.

Haiku #339 December 5^th

Is that a kidney

stone I hear forming? Only

drank coffee for days.

Haiku #340 Dec 6^th

The rhythms of the

ICU are not rhythms

of normal Sundays.

Haiku #341 Dec 7^th

Advent should not be

about more than the coming

of Christ, but it is.

Haiku #342 Dec 8^th

There is nothing so

profound as a quiet, slow

morning. Clouds go by.

Good Morning Brunch Cake

Here I go into the Season of Night—ICU Night Float, a dreaded post for me, but to ensure I have something to look forward to in the bleary-eyed mornings when finally I am able to float home for a daytime’s rest, Christmas lights, loved ones and coffee cake.

Buttery Brunch Cake

Adapted from Penzeys

Cake:

1 Cup butter (2 sticks), room temperature

1 Cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

2 Cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 Cup sour cream

Topping:

1/3 Cup brown sugar

1/4 Cup sugar

1 TB cinnamon

1 Cup chopped pecan

Butter Cream Filling:

5 TB. flour

1 Cup milk

1 Cup butter (2 sticks)

1 Cup sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease two 9-inch round cake pans and line with waxed paper cut in a round to fit the pan bottom. Set aside. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the batter, alternating with the sour cream. Mix well. Divide the batter between the cake pans. For the topping, combine the brown sugar, sugar, cinnamon and pecan. Mix well. Sprinkle over the cakes. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes. Let the cakes cool for 5 minutes before carefully removing from pans, then let cool completely. Split each layer in half, using a long thin bread knife, so that you have four round cakes.

For the filling: In a small saucepan, combine the flour and milk on low heat, whisking or using a fork to stir vigorously to make sure there are no lumps before you start heating. Raise heat to medium-low, cook until thick (like a very thick gravy or a paste), stirring pretty much constantly. It will take 6-12 minutes or so depending on your pan and the heat. Set aside to cool. Cream together the butter and sugar on high speed very well until light and fluffy. Add the cooled milk a spoon at a time and mix well. Add the vanilla and mix. Spread the filling on the two bottom layers and carefully top with the top layers.

Izzy ate her first xmas ornament while I was napping before my night shift. I suppose I can understand how she might think that we hung a tree full of treats like a little doggie advent calendar.

Haiku #335 Dec 1^st

Christmas tree with light

in the corner of the room

like a distant town.

Haiku #336 Dec 2^nd

Love an evening stroll

In the cold air among boughs

of ribbon and light.

Haiku #337 Dec 3^rd

Restaurant standing

one hundred and seventy

five years for oysters.

Haiku #338 Dec 4^th

And so commences

The season of night, and I

take my night watch post.

Cornmeal-Crusted Trout with Caper-Cherry Pepper Pan Sauce

Tropical heat wave! Of course, just after KP and I seal the windows with plastic to keep in the heat, God cranks up the sun dial to 11. We’re in the 80s after Thanksgiving!!! I rode to the hospital today wearing a sleeveless blazer and smiling like a Californian on the boardwalk. Could this be global warming? Or had I merely forgotten the balmy bliss of being a New Orleanian?

My tomatoes are flourishing, but my crudites and squash have gone to crud. How about a summery pan-fried fish dish for the couple in the floral shirts?

Cornmeal-Crusted Trout with Caper-Cherry Pepper Pan Sauce

Adapted from Food and Wine

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 medium shallots, minced

1 garlic clove, minced

3/4 cup dry white wine

2 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons

4 small jarred hot cherry peppers, seeded and chopped

1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley, plus more for garnish

2 teaspoons salt-packed capers, rinsed and chopped

1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest, plus lemon wedges for serving

Salt

Pepper

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2 large eggs

1 1/2 cups fine cornmeal

Four 6-ounce trout fillets with skin

1/4 cup vegetable oil

In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil. Add the shallots and garlic and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until softened, about 2 minutes. Add the wine and lemon juice and bring to a boil, then simmer over moderate heat until reduced to 1/2 cup, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, until incorporated. Stir in the hot peppers, 1 tablespoon of parsley, the capers and lemon zest and season with salt and pepper. Keep warm over very low heat.

Spread the flour in a shallow bowl. In another shallow bowl, beat the eggs. In a third shallow bowl, spread the cornmeal.

Season the trout with salt and pepper. Coat each fillet in flour, then dip in the egg, letting the excess drip off, and then dredge in the cornmeal.

In a large cast-iron skillet, heat the vegetable oil until shimmering. Working in batches if necessary, add the trout fillets and cook over moderately high heat, turning once, until browned and crisp, about 4 minutes total. Transfer to paper towels to drain, then transfer to a platter. Spoon the warm sauce on top, garnish with chopped parsley and serve with lemon wedges.

Haiku #333 Nov 29^th

John Boutte sings of

Treme in dba and I

Nod, barely hearing.

Haiku #334 Nov 30^th

Breaking bad news is

hard to do, I know, I know

that it is true-oo.

Popcorn with Sesame-Glazed Pistachios

We gathered around a table decorated by five-year-old Sasha Belle, who made sure we not only knew where we were meant to sit, but also, what she imagines our faces look like.

Her proud parents Kim and Steve, her three year old sister Zella, and my fond old biology student David formed this year’s Thanksgiving family. I, for one, was grateful that my jeopardy pager went off NOT ONCE over the entire weekend so that I could enjoy several extra lazy mornings to sleep in, cook a few side dishes for the Feast, decorate the house for the Yuletide season, and finish the annual Thanksgiving card poem (which is in the mail!) My favorite lounge-time snack so far for the holidays is this tasty rendition of glazed pistachios in popcorn. Crunchy, salty, sweet. Really, you don’t even need the popcorn–the pistachios are irresistible all by themselves.

Popcorn with Sesame-Glazed Pistachios

Adapted from Food and Wine

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup popping corn

Kosher salt

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

2 teaspoons soy sauce

1/2 teaspoons garlic powder

2 cups shelled unsalted pistachios (8 ounces)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350° and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large saucepan, combine the vegetable oil and popcorn, cover and cook over moderate heat until the corn starts to pop. Cook, shaking the pan until the popping stops, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer the popcorn to a large bowl and season lightly with salt.
Wipe out the saucepan. Add the olive oil, sugar, sesame seeds, soy sauce, garlic powder and 2 teaspoons of salt and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until the sugar dissolves, about 3 minutes. Add the pistachios and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Scrape the pistachios onto the prepared baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes, until bubbling.

Scrape the pistachio mixture into the popcorn and toss well. Let cool before serving.

Haiku #323 Nov 19^th

Behind the eyes sit

a colorful gallery

of selfhood critics.

Haiku #324 Nov 20^th

Mother and daughter

in a dressing room mirror—

same body time warp.

Haiku #325 Nov 21^st

Lil Dizzy’s, Cochon

and Juan’s Flying Burrito

compete for stomach.

Haiku #326 Nov 22^nd

Again we sit at

the Ruby Slipper and think:

There’s no place like home.

Haiku #327 Nov 23^rd

A dinner party

takes a turn for blood when the

liar’s dice come out.

Haiku #328 Nov 24^th

Fell asleep humming

Great is Thy Faithfulness, and

by morning, mercies.

Haiku #329 Nov 25^th

Lumbar puncture is

my particular point of

pride—flutes of champagne.

Haiku #330 Nov 26^th

A five year old plays

Hospital—turning the work

I do to delight.

Haiku #331 Nov 27^th

I find that I am

often more grateful the day

after Thanksgiving

Haiku #332 Nov 28^th

Because left overs

are like photographs—mem’ries

that still have flavor.

California BLT (Bacon, Love and Turkey)

I present the following to suggest variations on a theme, which is of course, Thanksgiving. Bacon Lettuce and Turkey, a perfectly acceptable alternative to the traditional BLT when we are in abundance of turkey come Thursday night. BLT could also stand for Big Love Thursday. The Big Love came to visit me and KP last week, which is of course, my mother. I’m actually a little over-stuffed going into Thanksgiving Day after all the eating out we did. Ruby Slipper for breakfast, Cochon Butcher for lunch, Juan’s Flying Burrito and Peche for dinner. I had to buy a new bathrobe this evening to contain my fat laziness. I kid you not; it’s purple.

I’m particularly jazzed about the lattice-work with the bacon on this sandwich. Takes some doing to get right, but the technique necessarily amplifies the most important component of the holy trinity of this sandwich: the Bacon.

California BLT

Adapted from Food and Wine

12 slices of bacon, halved crosswise

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon finely chopped tarragon

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Salt

Pepper

8 slices multigrain sandwich bread, toasted

1 Hass avocado—peeled, pitted and sliced

2 Persian cucumbers, thinly sliced on the diagonal

1 medium tomato, thinly sliced

4 small Bibb lettuce leaves

1/2 cup mixed sprouts, such as radish, sunflower and alfalfa

Preheat the oven to 400°. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or foil. For each lattice, weave 6 strips of bacon, 3 in each direction, on the prepared baking sheet.

Set an ovenproof rack upside down on the bacon to keep it flat. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until browned and crisp. Remove the rack, then transfer the bacon lattices to paper towels to drain.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk the mayonnaise with the tarragon and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper.

Spread the tarragon mayonnaise on each slice of toast. Arrange the sliced avocado, cucumbers and tomato on 4 slices of the toast and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Top with the bacon lattices, Bibb leaves and sprouts. Close the sandwiches and serve.

Here are only half of the haikus for the last week or so, since I got so embarrassingly behind on my posts. We will blame my Boards (which was a week ago).

Haiku #315 Nov 11^th

If left to mine own

I stay in the same place, in

the same pants for days.

Haiku #316 Nov 12^th

Upperline served four

courses: turtle soup, duck, bread

pudding and gumbo.

Haiku #317 Nov 13^th

One can get hooked on

Academics—kids who were

Gold star obsessives.

Haiku #318 Nov 14^th

Tavistock built a

Frame and let learners pose in

side for happening.

Haiku #319 Nov 15^th

Alexandria,

a treacherous Point B, swamp

flanks the freeway edge.

Haiku #320 Nov 16^th

I stuff my locker

with candy to reward the

regressed boards taker.

Haiku #321 Nov 17^th

Tornado warning

Evacuated my boards

Exam; now limbo.

Haiku #322 Nov 18^th

Infectious Disease

Across the nation, mother

And I caught one flu.

Italian Grinders with Garlic Aioli and Marathon 26

“Hoagies and grinders, hoagies and grinders. Navy beans, navy beans, navy beans.” I have been singing the Lunch Lady Land song for years without ever having known a grinder. Well, I met one. Four, actually. On the way home from Iowa last April, KP and I stopped by People’s Co-op and asked for thin slices of pretty much every deli meat they sell. Ooh, when mortadella and salami are heated together with provolone over this creamy garlic aioli sauce, tanged up by a little splash of red wine vinegar—it is divine. This sandwich shares many flavors with the muffaletta. Now knowing this little trick, I won’t have to stand in line for an hour down on Decatur at Central Grocery.

At this juncture, having run our 26^th 26.2 on Saturday in the Canyonlands outside Pasadena, California, and most all 26 straight downhill, I’m not sure I can fathom standing at all. Unprecedented quadricep damage. A whole different kind of grinder.

Italian Grinders with Garlic Aioli

Adapted from Food and Wine

2 large egg yolks

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Salt

Pepper

Four 8-inch light hoagie rolls, split lengthwise

1/4 cup chopped pickled hot cherry peppers

12 thin slices of mortadella

16 thin slices of Genoa salami

8 thin slices of prosciutto cotto

12 thin slices of provolone cheese

3 tomatoes, thinly sliced

1 teaspoon dried oregano

2 cups finely shredded iceberg lettuce

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

Preheat the oven to 375°. In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the lemon juice and garlic. Very gradually whisk in drops of the olive oil until starting to thicken, then gradually whisk in the remaining olive oil until thick. Season with salt and pepper.

Bake the closed hoagie rolls for 3 minutes, until warm. Spread the aioli on the cut sides. Top the bottom halves with the peppers, meats and cheese. Bake for 5 minutes, until the cheese melts. Top with the tomatoes and oregano and season with salt and pepper.

Pile the lettuce on top, drizzle on the vinegar and more olive oil if you’d like and serve.

Haiku #310 November 6^th

How can all the cars

In the world fit in the space

of these LA lanes?

Haiku #311 November 7^th

It seemed such a good

Idea to run down this

Mountain at dawn break.

Haiku #312 November 8^th

Lactic acid build

up in every limb can’t

keep me from dancing.

Haiku #313 November 9^th

When will I learn that

red eye flights make for the worst

sober drunkenness.

Haiku #314 November 10^th

Waffles for dinner,

Pajamas as uniform,

Novels for breakfast.

Curried Scallops

Could not have been more perfect timing to get sick with the flu. I had planned to feel sorry for myself all day anyway in using some of my vacation time to study for my boards, so it was a drop in the ocean to get a roaring case of influenza in the midst of regularly scheduled self-pity. Among other positive spins, there is now a sunshine rising in a corner of my kitchen, all the better to brighten these winter mornings when I need to be at the hospital hours before the real sun rises—now I don’t have to miss the sunrise.

I once read that curry is good for a cold in the way that garlic and ginger are good for colds. Dilates sinuses, gets fluids and humors circulating. I had these for dinner with at least a gallon of green/lemon tea. I’m turning my kidneys into a viral power wash. Or viral slip n’ slide, what you will.

Curried Scallops

Adapted from Food and Wine

2 tablespoons butter

1 onion, chopped

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons curry powder

2 teaspoons tomato paste

1/2 cup canned low-sodium chicken broth or homemade stock

1 cup light cream or half-and-half

2 cups shredded spinach (about 3 ounces spinach leaves)

2 pounds sea scallops

Instructions

In a large frying pan, melt the butter over moderately low heat. Add the onion and salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion starts to soften, about 3 minutes. Stir in the curry powder and cook for 1 minute.
Transfer the onion mixture to a blender and add the tomato paste, broth, and cream. Puree until smooth. Return the sauce to the pan.
Bring the curry sauce just to a simmer. Stir in the spinach and scallops. Simmer, covered, until the scallops are just done, 5 to 7 minutes.

By the way, don’t these new dishes (THANK YOU MOM!!!!) take my food photography to a new level? Food and Wine, eat your scallops right off MY plate!

#308 November 4^th

A pharyngitis

so bad that when I swallow

pain shoots down my back.

#309 November 5^th

Influenza may

well be an ocean of green

tea to drink across.

Cherry Ricotta Jam Tart and Halloween 2015

And oh what a Happy Halloween it was.

KP and I hosted our first party at the new soon to be Fuchsia and Lime, and we were met by an overwhelming in-pouring of loved ones and friends, new and old, silver and gold. The next morning, among the happy spoils of a good time: a baby bottle, a rainbow feathered unicorn hoof, pork rib bones picked clean, and a bright red lipstick print on Izzy’s wrinkled brow. I’m usually opposed to winning my own costume contest, but this year it was a tandem duo with my good friend Janelle, we were Sia and Maddie from the Chandelier Song which involved some significant choreography. My legs still burn from the several performances, but the laughs were, as always, well worth the trouble.

KP dazzled as a Minion,

but more so for the dazzling meat he perfected on the grill.

We carved pumpkins on Friday night, and made a tribute to the backyard ladies.

Great way to start off two weeks’ vacation! A season of brunch, for me, I think. Starting with this:

Cherry Jam Ricotta Tart

Adapted from Food and Wine

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

10 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cubed, plus more for greasing

3/4 cup superfine sugar

1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

Pinch of kosher salt

4 large eggs plus 1 large egg yolk

1 pound fresh ricotta cheese (2 cups)

One 13-ounce jar cherry or sour cherry jam (1 1/4 cups)

Whipped cream, for serving

Instructions

In a medium bowl, combine the flour and cubed butter. Using your fingertips, rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in 1/2 cup of the sugar, the lemon zest and salt. In a small bowl, beat 2 of the eggs; add to the flour mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until a dough starts to come together. Knead with your hands just until a dough forms. Divide the dough into a one-third piece and a two-thirds piece; pat each piece into a 1-inch-thick disk and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight.
Preheat the oven to 350°. Lightly butter a 9-inch fluted tart pan. In a small bowl, whisk the ricotta with 1 egg, the egg yolk and the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar until blended.
On a lightly floured surface, using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll out the larger piece  of dough to a 12-inch round about 1/8 inch thick. Ease the dough into the prepared tart pan and trim off the excess; prick the bottom of the dough all over with a fork. Spread the jam in an even layer over the bottom of the tart and spread the ricotta mixture evenly on top of the jam.
Roll out the remaining piece of dough to a 10-inch round. Using a sharp knife, cut the pastry into strips of different widths and arrange on top of the ricotta, leaving space between the strips and pressing them to adhere to the rim of the pan.
In a small bowl, beat the remaining egg and brush onto the pastry strips. Bake the tart in the center of the oven for about 50 minutes, until the crust is golden and the filling is set. Transfer to a rack and let cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Serve chilled, with whipped cream.

Thank your chickens for the eggs they ever so selflessly donate for the sake of tarts and pastries.

Haiku #298 October 25^th

Rained real hard and it

Rained for a real long time, and

then out came the Sun.

Haiku #299 October 26^th

Try your drive to work

as though you are headed else

where. See what you see.

Haiku #300 October 27^th

Smooth jazz? Smooth jazz is

like white chocolate, a bad

form of something good.

Haiku #301 October 28^th

What it is about

primary care that itches?

Wool of motherhood?

Haiku #302 October 29^th

Calcasieu, river

running to the Gulf, floating

gruyere beignets.

Haiku #303 October 30^th

Chicken etched into

the face of a pumpkin, perched

among fall flowers.

Haiku #304 October 31^st

Honey, we’re home, lights

are on, the hearth is warm, come

and dance off the storm.

Haiku #305 Nov 1^st

Fall back, way back, to

a time without requirement.

And cue vacation.

Haiku #306 Nov 2^nd

How much you miss there,

you in the building, come out

where the fiddlers play.

Haiku #307 Nov 3^rd

My calves are still stuck

In their Halloween dance moves.

Three cheers to thirty.

Socca and NAMI Walk

This was a week of weddings and birthdays, polished off with the finale of the NAMI walk which is probably the best NAMI event in this country, because in New Orleans, there is no walking, there is only second lining. We marched to the Rebirth Brass Band around Audubon park with a miniature army of moody-faced dogs like Charlotte here.

Thank you to all who donated to this cause which is so very important to me and the work I have chosen to do with my life. This year Tulane’s team raised more than it ever has before, nearly double at that! NAMI offers day programs and support groups for persons and families touched by mental illness. We are tragically under-resourced in New Orleans, a city perma-stressed with violence, poverty, post-trauma from hurricanes, anticipatory trauma for hurricanes yet to come. There can be no end to the efforts in the name of mental and spiritual health here. March on. Cook too. For example, this fabulous gluten-free crepe.

Socca

Adapted from Fromartz’s In Search of the Perfect Loaf

160 g chickpea flour

40 g fine cornmeal flour

430 g water

3 g salt

¾ tsp cumin

4 TB extra virgin olive oil

Mix together all of the ingredients with 3 TB olive oil. Let sit for at least two hours (overnight best). Then heat up a cast iron pan skillet until it is hot hot hot, add 1 TB olive oil and pour enough batter on to coat the circle.