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The Missus has developed a habit of leafing through some of my magazines lately…..which is kind of strange since She really hasn’t shown much interest in the stuff I subscribe to. So why the change? Here’s a typical scenario…..

Me: "What are you looking at in Saveur?"

She, pointing to a photo: "This is what I want for dinner."

Me, looking at the photo: "You want Latkes? I’ve never made Latkes, I don’t even know if I’m genetically predisposed to making Latkes."

She, coming up with the pat response: "Don’t worry, you can cook, it’s easy……" Pointing to photo: "See, it’s just a pancake. YOU CAN MAKE A PANCAKE, CAN’T YOU?"

Me, suddenly realizing that I’ve been both complimented and called out at the same time: "humph…."

She: "Hey, you can do a post on it…."

Me: "I’m not sure, you realize that many family’s treasure their recipes for Latkes, and I don’t want to insult anyone…."

By this time, She had lost interest and left the room…..probably moved on to bigger and better things.  It’s a good thing that I’ve down sized my magazine subscriptions, and only receive a few publications, though I shudder to think what She may come up with in Sports Illustrated! Come to think of it, I think I’d better put my cookbooks under lock and key.

As noted, this has been modified from the recipe in the December 2007 issue of Saveur. One key change was the substitution of green onions(scallions) for chives, which looked positively terrible at the market.

Latkes

2-2/12 lbs Yukon Gold Potatoes
1 Medium onion
2 Bunches Green Onions sliced
3 Tb Matzo Meal
2 Eggs lightly beaten
Fresh Ground Pepper & Kosher Salt ot taste
Canola Oil

1 – Over a bowl, using the large-hole side of a box grater, alternate grating onion and potatoes.
2 – Sprinkle salt over potato-onion mixture, and transfer to a colander set over a bowl. Let drain for 10 minutes.
3 – Squeeze out as much moisture as possible from mixture, allowing the liquid to drain into the bowl. Set liquid side to let the starch in the liquid settle.
4 – Place mixture into another bowl, cover, and set aside.
5 – After 5 minutes, pour off the liquid, leaving settled starch behind.
6 – Mix starch into the onion-potato mixture, along with green onions, matzo meal, eggs, salt, and pepper.
7 – Heat canola oil in a pan to the height of about 1/4" over medium heat.
8 – Form mixture into balls, using about 1/4-1/3 cup of the mixture for each ball. Place ball into oil, and flatten with a spatula.
9 – Fry until cooked, turning once, for about 5-8 minutes.
10 – Latkes are traditionally served with sour cream or apple sauce….but the Missus uses, gasp…..ketchup!

Oh yes, one more item:

11 – Display your grated knuckles as a badge of courage!

Postscript: Great minds must think alike (he-he-he), here’s the one and only WanderingChopsticks, with her hunger inducing version.

Since returning from Peru, the Missus has been a bit obsessed with Quinoa. To the extent that we’ve been making Sopa de Quinoa(Quinoa soup) or Lamb and Quinoa Soup almost every week for the last 2 1/2 months! In fact, during that period we’ve been noticing that the price of quinoa has slowly risen; from 89 cents a pound….to $2.19 a pound. I believe that the Missus is the cause of this increase, her incessant demand has caused world-wide supplies to dwindle, a one woman quinoa consumption machine!

A few days ago, the Missus asked me to make something different. I recalled a quinoa salad we had about 5-6 years ago….yes it is true, I can never remember where I parked my car….but ask me about a quinoa salad I had half a decade ago, and I’m "money".

This was very easy, but there a few items of note; I used less water than usual for quinoa,  the normal ratio is about 2 to 1, but because I wanted my quinoa to be "dry", I lowered the ratio. Also, when I tasted the "salad", I thought that I needed something with a bit of sweetness to balance out the flavors. Rather than adding sugar, I sliced some jicama that I had on hand which were used as "chips" to scoop up the salad. Also, the Missus wanted some seafood, so I sauteed some shrimp I had, and used that as a topping.

You might find this surprising, but quinoa is quite calorie-dense at 693 calories per cup. Quinoa is also a good source of complete protein 24 grams per cup, and carbs at 109 grams per cup. You can see why quinoa is sometimes called a "super food". What I find most interesting is how quinoa looks when cooked:

As is duly noted in What we’re eating.

Quinoa Salad

1 1/2 cups quinoa, rinsed
2 cups water
1 cucumber, diced
1 small red onion, diced 
3 tomatoes, cored, seeded, and diced
1 bunch radishes diced
4 Tb cilantro chopped
mint leaves, chopped
2 cloves garlic finely minced
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
juice from 1 lemon
Salt and Fresh Ground Black Pepper to taste
Slices of Jicama
Arugula

1 – Combine rinsed quinoa and water in a medium pot and bring to a boil. Stir once, lower to a simmer and cover for 8-12 minutes.
2 – When quinoa is cooked remove to a strainer or colander, "fluff and mix" to remove all moisture. Let cool.
3 – When the quinoa has cooled and is "dry", transfer the quinoa to a large mixing bowl and add cucumber, onion, tomato, radish, and cilantro. Mix well.
4 – Add olive oil, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, salt, garlic and pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning.
5 – Chill for at least 20 minutes
6 – Top with a chiffonade of mint, and serve on a bed of arugula, with slices of Jicama.