For dinner: Pollo alla Romana

Despite the stresses of life lately, this week was a good week. I was able to catch up with a friend in NYC.  Another friend is visiting from China and staying with us for two weeks, while he completes his research.  And yesterday, we attended a colleague's wedding, which was followed by a small cake reception.  After the morning ceremony, we had friends over for makeshift mango mimosas, which we served on our terrace.  We spent a few hours chatting, the wind blowing, the sun burning bright.  Days like that -- those filled with ease and laughter and simple pleasures-- are glorious, no?

One of the simple pleasures I liked to indulge in frequently is eating freshly baked, crusty baguette from one of the local bakeries.  In fact, I spent a good part of my first months in Cambodia on a motorbike with fresh baguette in hand.  And over two years later, that has not changed.  On lazy nights, when we aren't terribly hungry, we'll snack on baguette, a soft rind French cheese, and fruit for dinner.

A few weeks ago, I came across this simple recipe from Rachel Eats.  Pancetta, white wine, slowly simmered with tomatoes, slivers of red peppers, and chicken - what's not to love? Slow cooking is so wonderful because there's this point when everything just magically melts together perfectly.  It's alchemy.

It turns out this dish was also the perfect accompaniment to crusty bread.  This is a definite do-over for me.

Pollo alla Romana
Adapted from this recipe by Rachel Eats

Ingredients

A nice plump chicken weighing about 1.5 kg (or 3-4 chicken breasts)
3 tbsp olive oil
50g pancetta, diced
4-6 cloves of garlic
a glass of dry white wine
300 g tomatoes
3 large red peppers
1-2 bay leaves
salt and pepper

Instructions
Clean the chicken and cut it into pieces.

In a large heavy based pan, fry the diced pancetta in the olive oil until it renders its fat. Add the chicken pieces skin side down and cook until the skin forms a golden crust, then turn them and fry the other side.

Add salt, several grindings of black pepper and the garlic and turn the pieces over three or four times. Add the wine and let it bubble away until most of it has evaporated.  [Note: At this point, your kitchen will smell amazing!]

Coarsely chop the tomatoes and the red peppers. Add the tomatoes and the peppers to the pan, stir, cover the pan and leave over a over a modest heat.  Add the bay leaves.  Stir every now and then to prevent sticking. Once the peppers release their juices, half cover the pan and cook for another 45 minutes or until the tomatoes and peppers have collapsed into a dense, rich sauce and the chicken is tender.

Allow the pan to sit for about 15 minutes.

Starting the day

Thank goodness for yummy breakfasts.  Today: left-over frittata that Ethan made from veggies we have at home (potato, zucchini, tomato, onion, lots of garlic), topped with torn French basil.

I cannot wait for the weekend.  I am so exhausted this week.

Images from my week

1-3.  Too many meetings and hours sitting in Java Cafe.
4.     When I feel sick, I go right for a bowl of soba noodles and hot, yummy broth.
5.     Lights out: the black-outs in my neighborhood continue.

Tortillas

via Homesick Texan

Last week was a bad week.  My sisters and Ryan will likely  have to cancel their flights to Indonesia and Cambodia.  Ryan's father was in an accident.  For the past two weeks, his condition was precarious, and Jen has been in Missouri with Ryan's family the entire time.  It's unlikely that they will be able to fly out to see me in the next two weeks, which sucks, but is minor.  What was harder for me was not being able to be there for my sister.  In times like this, it is difficult to be so far from home.

Then, I became sick. Very sick. Doctor visit. Medicine. Fatigue and overall crappiness. I couldn't eat, and it was just so hot and uncomfortable. (April is the hottest month of the year.)  And while I was running to the doctor and in a very characteristic-of-me state of denial, I was also running around attempting to do my day job and complete the research for my consultancy.

In the two years I've lived in Cambodia, I have seen people break. Fatigued by the work, the heat, the germs in this tropical climate, and/or the government, several friends and colleagues have cried, out of frustration, anger, and helplessness.

I hit a wall. I broke.  And, I cried to Ethan.  

He hugged me and listened and reminded me of all the good that I've found here.  

Another night, when I was sick and flat-out exhausted from the day, he made me tortillas using the recipe below. (I have been searching for proper tortillas since I moved to Cambodia.)  I was blown away by the gesture.  They would have been delicious used in this crispy black bean and feta taco recipe.

I'm on the mend.

Flour Tortillas

Recipe from Homesick Texan

Makes 8 tortillas

Ingredients:
Two cups of all-purpose flour (he substituted one cup of whole-wheat flour for white flour)
1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon of salt
2 teaspoons of vegetable oil
3/4 cups of warm milk

Instructions:
Mix together the flour, baking powder, salt and oil.  Slowly add the warm milk. Stir until a loose, sticky ball is formed. Knead for two minutes on a floured surface. Dough should be firm and soft.

Place dough in a bowl and cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap for 20 minutes.

After the dough has rested, break off eight sections, roll them into balls in your hands, place on a plate (make sure they aren’t touching) and then cover balls with damp cloth or plastic wrap for 10 minutes. 

After dough has rested, one at a time place a dough ball on a floured surface, pat it out into a four-inch circle, and then roll with a rolling pin from the center until it’s thin and about eight inches in diameter.  Don’t over work the dough, or it’ll be stiff. Keep rolled-out tortillas covered until ready to cook.

In a dry iron skillet, cook the tortilla about thirty seconds on each side. It should start to puff a bit when it’s done.

Keep cooked tortillas covered wrapped in a napkin until ready to eat.

Dinner

via flickr

I've been cooking a lot with grains these days.  Last night, inspired by this photo and the dishes of gourmand extraordinaire Natasha, I made a barley dish.  I scored the barley in Bangkok because I could not find it in Phnom Penh. I soaked it in water for about 8-9 hours, boiled it, and tossed it into a mixture of sauteed spinach, garlic, onion, carrot, zucchini, rice wine vinegar, soy, and lemon juice. It was a light dinner and yet very fulfilling.  To balance this dinner, we had a red velvet cupcake and a macadamia tart for dessert from Bloom Cafe.

Tonight, Ethan and I are meeting Mark, a good friend visiting from China for a few days, for drinks.  It's much later in the evening, so before then, I am going to try my hand at a different iteration of potato gratin- gratin dauphinois, which doesn't use cheese and only a little bit of cream.  I will use this recipe from Chocolate & Zucchini (below). 

Gratin Dauphinois
Serves 6 as a side dish.

1 kg (2.2 pounds) potatoes, a mix of waxy and baking potatoes (if you prefer to use only one type, pick waxy potatoes, not too firm)
500 ml (2 cups) milk (whole or part-skim, not skim)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
freshly grated nutmeg
1 clove garlic, sliced lengthwise
3 tablespoons finely chopped chives (optional)
60 ml (1/4 cup) heavy cream (use whipping cream in the UK and crème fraîche liquide in France)

Peel the potatoes, rinse them briefly, and slice them thinly (about 3mm or 1/10th of an inch) and evenly. (A food processor or a mandoline come in handy at this point.) Do not rinse after slicing, or you will lose all that precious starch.

Combine the sliced potatoes, milk, salt and a good grating of nutmeg in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat, and keep simmering for 8 minutes, stirring the potatoes and scraping the bottom of the pan regularly to prevent sticking/scorching. The milk will gradually thicken to a creamy consistency.

While the potatoes are simmering, preheat the oven to 220°C (430°F) and rub the bottom and sides of a medium earthenware or glass baking dish (I use an oval dish that's 26 cm/10 inches at its widest, and 2 liters/2 quarts in capacity) with the cut sides of the garlic clove.

Transfer half of the potatoes into the baking dish, sprinkle with the chives if using, and drizzle with half of the cream. Add the rest of the potatoes, pour the cooking milk over them, and drizzle with the remaining cream.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until bubbly on the edges and nicely browned at the top. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Daughters of Cambodia

All pictures via Daughters of Cambodia

And just like that, November is gone.

Thanksgiving Thursday flew by without turkeys or cranberry sauce.  Although Ethan and I went out to dinner that evening, the day just felt off.  Unlike the Christmas holiday, which I never miss, I haven't spent most Thanksgivings in California with my family.  There were several years in Portland, when, due to law school, extreme cram sessions and small bank accounts, I could not make it home.  Last year, I spent the holiday in Poipet, the lovely Cambodian slum known for drug trafficking, neon-signed casinos lighting up the night sky, and really weird abandoned amusement parks.  

Despite the absence of many adult Thanksgivings at home, I missed my family so much this year, and I thought I would give anything to be able to watch ridiculous Law & Order SVU (I am lame) marathons, as my grandma Elipidia cooked.

Such is life abroad, I suppose.

Life these days feels similar to those cram sessions I did in law school and at the firm.  One good thing about my recent holing-up is that I've discovered a little gem of a cafe in Phnom Penh, Sugar 'n Spice (run by Daughters of Cambodia), where proceeds go to supporting victims of sex trafficking in Cambodia.  The food is delicious and the comfy seats enable me to plop down and write for long stretches. I figured I was spending in the upwards of $15 a day in other Phnom Penh coffee shops.  My money can go to a better cause.

Daughters also has a small craft shop and nail salon onsite.

slowing down.

via Simply Recipes

Tuesday morning.  The week is already starting to improve: cooking, wine-drinking, no crazy, push-push-push deadlines looming in the next few days.  I made this  galette two nights ago, sans a food processor and in my mini electric oven.  Yum. Plums aren't easy to come by in Cambodia, and they also aren't cheap. Well worth it, I say.  I adapted the recipe, using Cambodian palm sugar (kind of like brown sugar) and limes, from my lime tree, rather than lemon.  I prefer a little more substance to my crusts, so I may play around next time with different flours.

Recipe for the crust here.  Plum galette recipe here.

ALSO:

via Ermie

How wonderful is Ermie's new collection? I am very tempted by the silk tee in the Talitha print.  Jennifer has been just lovely, answering my questions about caring for the silk Ermie pieces - in Cambodia, I do not do dry-cleaning.  I've lost many a silk blouse here.

Cambodian Weddings and Granola Making

It's Sunday morning.  Last night, it rained like mad, toppling the small plants on the terrace, including the chili plant that seems to be dying, despite my attempts to water and sun it.

At 6:00a.m. this morning, the sound of music, drums, cymbals even, and amplified talking poured through the windows of my home: a Cambodian wedding.  I was just writing to my good friend, Anu, about the phenomenon of Cambodian weddings, which appear to pop up more and more in the days approaching  Water Festival, another Cambodian holiday. (Yes, the upcoming week is a short work week.)  Is this an auspicious time?  It must be because up and down my street, and on the street behind and in front of my home, tents have been erected, and they are filled with people eating and dancing from the wee morning hours until more modest evening hours.  These weddings last 3 days.

Am I a horrible person to admit these loud festivities in the early morning hours annoy me?  Prevent me from sleeping past 6:30a.m. on what should be lazy weekends?  There are no zoning laws in Cambodia, or if there are, they are not enforced, so another result of these pop-up weddings is bottlenecks and bad traffic.

In any case, since I could not sleep, I woke up and made granola.  I scored a small electric oven from Dom, my friend who just moved back to Australia, and I've made a batch of very simple granola before.  I adapted the following recipe from Lauren Soloff,* of the Granola Project, using local ingredients, like Mondulikiri honey and palm sugar.

The mixture is currently baking in my oven and the house smells like cinnamon.

[Photos and recipe via Chef Speak]

Coconut Sesame Date Granola
Yields approximately 8 cups

Ingredients:
6 cups rolled oats (not quick-cooking or instant)
2 cups sliced or slivered almonds (raw and unsalted)
1 cup dried unsweetened shredded coconut
1 cup roasted sesame seeds
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, or to taste
Generous dash of sea salt
1/2 to 1 cup agave or maple syrup** 
3/4 cup olive oil (or olive oil and canola oil blend)
1 cup deglet dates, pitted and chopped

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, combine oats, nuts and seeds, coconut, cinnamon, and salt.
On the stove in a small pot combine the sweetener and oil and bring to a boil. Immediately remove from heat and add to the oat mixture.
Place on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and put in oven. Bake for 30 minutes or a little longer, stirring frequently. Be careful the edges do not burn.
Remove pan from oven and add the dates. Cool on a rack. Transfer to a sealed glass container.

*  I am green with envy for that heart-shaped Le Creuset.

**  I used a mixture of palm sugar and local honey instead.  Real, quality maple syrup is hard to find here and expensive.

[Post-edit: In my electric oven at least, it is easier to burn the edges, so I'll turn down the baking temperature next time.]

Ratatouille

via Popcorn Plays

Natasha's ratatouille recipe really hit the spot.  Despite my hunger pains, I let the veggies simmer and stew for two hours, as she recommended.  And, something at the hour-and-a-half mark just turned the whole diced mess into magic.  Admittedly, I didn't have pepper or parsley, nor a bay leaf at hand, and so I was a little worried.  I used basil instead and a few bits of rosemary and then cheated by throwing in a tiny, tiny dash of balsamic.  I topped a bowl-full off with freshly torn pieces of basil, before savoring it with a crunchy baguette. This is a definite re-do for me. 

Lephet Thoke - Burmese Tea Leaf Salad

via flickr

Two nights ago, I had dinner with two incredible women at the Burmese restaurant in Phnom Penh, Irrawaddi. Both women work in human rights law in the region and have been in Cambodia for years longer than me. We spent the evening catching up and generally laughing. I am astounded by their ability to balance their life and to remain seemingly healthy and happy. How do people stop the work from sticking?

But this post isn't about the tolls of work in this country. It's about the tea leaf salad. No lettuce - just red chili peppers, roasted peanuts, lime, cilantro, fermented tea leaves, tomato, and garlic. It doesn't sound like it, but it is good.

Beers for Bears

via Save the Bears

Apparently, this is what I do on a Saturday night in Phnom Penh - raise a glass for the Asiatic Black Bear. I hear there will be an iced bear sculpture with flowing vodka. It sounds very strange, but the rooftop views at the Foreign Correspondent's Club cannot be missed.

P.S. There was, indeed, an ice bear sculpture with flowing liquor. And lots of dancing and conservation-folk mingling.

Boeung Keng Kang Market

My Saturday so far: lazing in bed, cheap Japanese eats at Soran with friends, and walking across the street to Boeung Keng Kang local market, where I had a $1 pedicure (red-orange polish, OK rating) and stocked up on cauliflower and other veggies. I am making cauliflower gratin tonight.

YUM.

via Bap Story

I've been throwing cream into everything lately -- tomato cream sauce, garlic cream sauce, cheddar bechamel sauce, etc. Overkill. This tofu recipe, on talented Jeana's new blog project, was just what I needed to break the pattern last night. And let me tell you, it was delicious and so simple! The tofu was crunchy outside and soft inside, just perfect. A do-over, certainly.

Lunch

via Smitten Kitchen

Much to my chagrin, our office is moving today, south, so south we will surely fall off the Phnom Penh map, so south my Khmer colleagues tell me we can no longer be called city folk. I sat and watched the movers this morning before realizing it was a complete waste of my time to wait. So Anna, the Russian lawyer, and I dashed off to my home, where we siphoned internet and made lunch.

I go through phases where all I want to do is cook at home. In the past, it was typically Indian food, as evidenced by the countless cookbooks I left stateside. Lately, it's been a mix of baking, roasting and cooking concoctions from recipes I Frankenstein from blogs. There are limitations -- two rules that dictate cooking for me these days.

The first is simplicity. How is it that roasting fresh vegetables from my neighborhood market gives me such satisfaction? That baking potatoes tossed in olive oil and rosemary could make me so happy?

The second is that it must involve cream and/or cheese. I blame my French-American flatmate, whose phone conversations with her mum always provide me countless food inspiration. Cheese, cream, all dairy are very expensive in Phnom Penh.

Back to lunch today: I made this simple pasta dish, throwing in a few handfuls of fresh basil, lemon zest, and grating Pecorino Romano on top.