Tuna Melt with Poblano Peppers

2 tablespoons minced onion
1 teaspoon rice vinegar (or substitute another vinegar)
1 teaspoon olive oil
1-2 tablespoons minced or small diced fresh poblano pepper ( you could use jalapeno)

2 tablespoons finely chopped celery
3-4 tablespoons Mayonnaise (or mayonnaise substitute)
2 cans white albacore tuna
pepper to taste

whole grain bread or burger buns
tomato, sliced and seasoned with basil, salt and olive oil
lettuce

Mix the onion with the vinegar and olive oil and let sit for 5 minutes.

Poblano peppers are green and more slender than a bell pepper and are about 6-7 inches in length.
They have a kick to them.
Mix the poblanos with the onion mixture and let it sit for 5 minutes while you are preparing the tuna.

Drain the tuna. If you like a wetter tuna you can use some of the juice.
Mix the chopped celery into the tuna.
Add the poblano onion mixture, mix well.
Add cracked pepper to taste.
Mix the mayonnaise into the tuna.

Shape the tuna into a burger and place it in a hot oiled pan. Fry on each side for  a few minutes. It will be crumbly so just reshape it with your spatula. Add cheese and a lid so cheese will melt.
Sprinkle bread with italian herbs and olive oil and pan toast it.

Serve with sliced tomato sprinkled with basil, and lettuce.

Brown Basmati Rice with Onions

A heavy pan with tight fitting lid (heavy steel or enameled cast iron)

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup diced onion
1-2 cloves garlic minced
1/2 tspn salt

2 cups brown basmati rice very well rinsed and drained (you can use regular brown rice)

4 - 4 1/2 cups of water

thinly sliced scallions or fresh parsley

Heat the oil in the pan until hot. Add onions when they sizzle in the oil; saute for a few minutes or till onions have a tinge of brown around the edges.
Add the salt.
Add the garlic and stir for about 30 seconds.

Add the rice and begin mixing it into the onions. Toast the rice in the pan, stirring slowly but consistently for several minutes.

The amount of water depends on how soft or firm you like your rice. Add the water when the rice is lightly toasted. Bring to a boil. Cook on low, tightly covered for about an hour. Serve with garnish and soy sauce if desired.

Lavender whipped cream

If you grow lavender, as I do, you are in luck: here is is January and I can go to my garden and harvest a few leaves from my plant. You might have a culinary lavender like Lavandula angustifolia officianalis also known as English lavender. Other culinary lavenders include Lavandula x intermedia "Provence", a hybrid which is reputed to be lower in camphor and resin than L. angustifolia officianalis. But I only have the officianalis in my garden so that is what I use. It is winter and there are no flowers on it, so I am using the leaves which are packed with flavor. You might be able to buy the lavender leaves at a Natural Food Store.
I served this with a homemade fruitcake and the clean flowery taste of the lavender whipped cream made a nice counterpoint to the heavier sweetness of the candied fruits, nuts and cake, although nicely candied citrus creates a high note also. Too much lavender in a dish can make it bitter, like rosemary. So start with a little, you can always add more. The flavor intensifies if the whipped cream is stored in the refrigerator for an hour or more.

1/2 cup of heavy (whipping) cream
1/4 teaspoon fresh lavender leaves minced very finely
1-2 teaspoons honey

Tools: Immersion blender, or other appliance suitable for whipping cream; I use a mini-blender as it pulverizes the lavender and whips up the honey easily due to the inversion created when attaching the canister to the base.

Put the cream and the lavender together and  whip for a few seconds to bruise the lavender and begin the thickening. Add the honey, drizzling it over the cream and continue whipping; you could also use confectioner's sugar. Use a silicone spatula to make sure all the honey is scooped up off the bottom of the bowl and incorporated into the whipped cream.

If you want stronger flavor add more lavender.

This tastes like heaven on coffee!

Trout stuffed with mango salsa

Today there was sun shining down on my face and I was grateful for it! At the Natural Food Store  I saw three de-boned trout. The fish man said they were about a 1/2 lb. each. They were a bit less than that and one trout was the perfect size for one person. I love my fish man and you should too: be sure to ask him his favorite way to cook whatever you are buying–you will get great tips. He suggested that I stuff them with panko breadcrumbs and apples! But I ended up stuffing them with my homemade corn and mango salsa; I seasoned the  skin with cumin powder and salt, and a bit of garlic powder; cooked them at 375 for 20 minutes or so. I had forgotten how great trout is. I love the taste of mango and peaches with fish, even frozen fruit can make it taste great. It stretches the flavors into each other, very complementary.
I picked up round and luscious rutabagas, each the size of a tennis ball, or smaller, and they were unwaxed-that is a flavor gift and I didn't have to peel them. I took a carrot and a rutabaga and sliced it finer than usual since I was in a hurry and wanted it to cook faster; added some Italian herbs and diced onion; sauteed them in olive oil and the same cast iron pan from the last recipe. It really pays off to get the freshest looking root vegetable.
I didn't have time to cook rice so I grilled some asparagus with olive oil and threw minced fresh garlic and salt on at the last minute. I didn't use a grill pan, just a cast iron pan but I honestly think I prefer it done in a stainless steel pan.
My faithful kitchen man cleaned up everything! Ricardo really love the trout and it was the kind of meal that makes you sated. Root vegetable and fish can do that.
Sarah called tonight and told me that she had a dinner party for friends at Northwestern and one of her friends said, "I didn't know you could cook!" What a nice compliment.
I strive to pleasantly surprise folks with something I do well.

About Isobel's Cookbook

It's very chilly out tonight and you can smell the smoke from the fireplaces. I used to cook on a wood burning stove and the smoke in the air brings back memories of mesmerizing dishes. Some nights I would have all six burners going. They were really circles of heavy iron that fit into the grooves on the stovetop. The oven made the apple pie scream of wood smoke. Baked root vegetables took Italian herbs and combined themselves to a new height. All the food had a wild and exotic taste. It was on that woodstove, in Boston, long ago, that I began my cookbook. Nowadays cooking in cast iron reminds me of the strong smoky food I enjoyed with the help of the burning wood and the huge cast iron stove.

Polenta with Carrots and Onions

1-2 teaspoons dark sesame oil, or other oil

3/4 cup chopped onions

1/4 cup chopped carrots, diced

1/4 teaspoon sea salt or as desired

1 cup corn meal

2-1/2 to 3 cups water (for moister polenta add more water)

soy sauce to taste (optonal)

1/4 teaspoon Italian Herbs (optional)

1 clove garlic minced (optional)

Use a heavy cast iron skillet or any pot with a lid.

Chop the carrots, onions and mince the garlic.

Saute the onions and carrots on a medium high flame in the oil.

Add the salt, soy sauce and herbs if desired.

When onions are getting a little browned, add the cornmeal and saute, stirring constantly until the sweet smell of the corn is released (don't brown it). Roasting grains brings out a nutty flavor.

Just before adding the water saute the garlic into the corn meal for a minute. Add the water and cover the pot or skillet. Simmer for 40-60 minutes depending on how coarsely your cornmeal was ground. You can reserve some of the water and add it as needed for desired consistency.

Garnish with finely chopped scallion, chives or parsley.

Serves 4.