Meals Without Jeremy: Part II

Duck Confit Potstickers with Umeboshi Sauce:
Umeboshi are one of my favorite ingredients.  They are Japanese pickled plums with a very acidic and salty taste profile.  Here I chopped a few up to flavor a sauce and to cut the unctuous confit/cheese mixture (which we had made and frozen a few months ago).

• Potstickers: Wonton wrappers, duck confit w/ gruyère; champagne & ancho oil for cooking
• Sauce: Umeboshi, rice wine vinegar, shoyu soy sauce

Umeboshi Shiitake Soup:

As for most of my Japanese-style soups, I started out by making a basic dashi (boiling kombu seaweed and bonito flakes)--but rather than starting with plain water, I used the liquid from soaking my dried shiitakes in order to add extra umami flavor.  Then I threw in the leftover umeboshi sauce from above to add additional flavor components.

The soup would have benefited (in both taste and apperance) from some fresh vegetables, but unfortunately I did not have any.

• Garnish: Duck confit/gruyère potstickers, chikuwa fu, rehydrated shiitake mushrooms
• Soup Base: Umeboshi sauce (Umeboshi, rice wine vinegar, shoyu soy sauce), shiitake-soaking liquid, kombu, bonito flakes, chili threads

Deconstructed and Revised Inarizushi (Tuna-Stuffed Tofu Pouches with Champagne Cardamom Quinoa and Shiitake Cream Sauce):
This is a take on inarizushi (briefly: sushi in these tofu pouches).  Rather than rice, I used quinoa, and rather than flavoring it with vinegar, I cooked the quinoa with champagne in place of water.  The tuna was canned, but I sautéed it and flavored it with some Cholula.

The sauce was a wonderful creamy duxelle-style sauce that Jeremy made a while back.  Originally served cold, I heated it here.

• Quinoa: Quinoa, cheap champagne, no-chicken Bouillon paste, cardamom pods
• Zushi: Tofu pouches boiled in soy sauce water, tuna, cholula
• Garnish: Dried chives, shiitake cream sauce, cholula

Tuna, Quinoa and Shiitake Sauce:
Leftovers.  See above for ingredients (minus the tofu pouches).


Garden Chicken Stirfry:
Bok choy, broccoli rabe and green garlic from a friend's garden form the basis for this dish.

• Stir fry: Bok choy, broccoli rabe, green garlic, chicken breast, soy sauce, chenin blanc
• Garnish: Bok choy flowers

Rhubarb Compote:
Just a snack.  You can tell I'm still being rather lazy/unmotivated without Jeremy.

• Rhubarb, turbinado sugar

Ham Sandwich with Garden Vegetables:

• Deli ham, mustard, assorted spring lettuce, dill, radish

Salmon Salad Sandwich:
A good fish or chicken salad should have a pickled component and a tart/fruity component. I particularly like capers for the pickle but my fruity component tends to change.  Here I used grapefruit, which complimented the salmon nicely. I also threw in some fennel which added a nice crispness and an herbal component that brought out the nice aspect of the fishiness.

• Salad: Grilled sockeye salmon, grapefruit, capers, fennel bulb, red pepper mustard
• Bread: from work

Asparagus Tart with Coconut Cornmeal Crust:
Inspired by Heidi Swanson's Turnip Green Tart, I decided to make an asparagus tart with the remnants from making a wonderful chilled asparagus soup for my mom on Mother's Day.

I used noted recipe as a starting point, but substituted coconut flour for the spelt.  The resulting crust was wonderful with a light sweetness and concurrent savoriness.  Both the corn and coconut aromas are present but subtle.  I made a double batch and look forward to using the frozen remnants.  I altered the filling slightly more, but stuck to her general theme.

Jeremy and I got some flowers which we dried before he left, and that is one of them.  Sorry about the nostalgia...

• Crust: AP flour, coconut flour, corn meal, butter, egg
• Filling: Asparagus fiber, chicken stock, egg, red pepper mustard, cream, garlic
• Garnish: Gruyère, Red Pepper Flakes