While I was in China, Peter raved about this meal that he made twice in two weeks. TWICE! With a husband who loves to cook a new dish every day, I was intensely curious about this particular meal. I was even more shocked when I learned that my carnivorous husb was enjoying a vegetarian dish – veggies, grains, the like.
No. Way.
I knew we simply had to cook this meal again, soon. With a fridge full of veggies, we decided tonight was the night.
Polenta Gratin with Mushroom “Bolognese”
Adapted from Think Like A Chef
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp peanut oil
1 onion, diced
2 carrots, diced
1 small zucchini, chopped
1 small yellow squash, chopped
3 garlic gloves, minced
3 cups mushrooms, any kind, chopped (We used white button and cremini)
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 Tbsp fresh thyme
1 cup veggie stock
Salt and pepper
Polenta:
1 cup cornmeal (polenta)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt
1/2 cup fresh-grated Parmesan
Heat peanut oil over medium heat in large skillet. Add onion, carrot, zucchini, and yellow squash and saute for 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Toss in mushrooms and thyme and cook for three minutes, until mushrooms are soft. Add tomatoes and veggie stock and simmer the Bolognese until the sauce thickens, about 30 minutes. Set aside.
For the polenta, bring 4 cups water to a boil in a saucepan. Add a pinch of salt, then add polenta VERY slowly – a spoonful at a time, stirring well after each addition. Stir constantly while bringing the polenta to a boil, then reduce heat to low and cook the polenta (stir occasionally) for about 30 minutes, until smooth. Stir olive oil into the polenta.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Spread half the polenta in the bottom of a 9″ x 9″ baking dish. Spoon 1/2 – 2/3 of bolognese onto polenta, then top with the rest of the polenta. Reserve the rest of the bolognese. Top the whole gratin with Parmesan and bake for 40 minutes. Turn the oven up to broil and brown the cheese for 3 – 4 minutes. Warm the reserved sauce and serve with the gratin.
Inhale!
I can see why Peter loves this dish – yum! The warm polenta is so filling, but not at all heavy. And stuffing the gratin full of veggies is a great way to enjoy them in a nontraditional way. Veggies can be filling!
While we were grocery shopping this weekend, I spied a new fruit that I’ve never seen in the flesh: mangosteen. I’ve seen the juice in fancy antioxidant blends, yet I was unprepared to see this unremarkable little purple fruit.
Mangosteens are about the size of a small apple and apparently are wicked hard to grow due to the temperamental mangosteen plant. Food companies have generated a lot of hoopla about the supposedly high antioxidant content of mangosteen. The fruit appears to have some antioxidant effects, although it’s not any more of a “miracle fruit” than any other delicious (and more easily-accessible) fruit.
Mangosteens have thick, extremely bitter hulls (trust me, I tried it and it tasted … whew :O ). The edible fruit is creamy white and segmented like an orange:
How did it taste? Like no other fruit I’ve ever tasted. It wasn’t as sweet as, say, an orange, but the flavor was a rich combination of lychees, strawberries, and plums. The flesh was super creamy … and gone in three bites!
Gussie says: give it a try! :)
Q: Have you ever tasted mangosteen? What’s the most unusual fruit you’ve ever tried?
Hello again, everyone! I’ve now been in Beijing for three weeks and I feel very comfortable in the city – at least in the section around the University! I’ve navigated subways, buses, and taxis by myself in a strange city where I don’t speak the language well, and have even had (very) short conversations with sales people and taxi drivers (as long as they don’t speak too fast, of course). I miss brown rice, which doesn’t seem to exist here. Fried rice is found in abundance, however ;) I’ve also experimented with some new breakfasts, such as this delicious yogurt:
Most yogurts here are drinkable, such as the one I featured in my last post. This yogurt is not for fat-avoiders – there’s also no such thing as low fat or nonfat yogurt in the grocery stores. Small portions, people, small portions.
I’ve also gotten used to the “special” toilets found in China (and elsewhere):
I won’t go into more detail about them. Suffice to say that I’m glad I’m a fairly strong runner. Feel free to ask me about them if you’d like :)
I thought I’d show you a bit of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). I won’t give background on this ancient practice, so check out the link above for a great summary.
We had the opportunity to visit one of Peking University’s hospital to watch our professor practice TCM on his patients. As usual, this will mostly be a photo essay/montage.
Inside the hospital. No air-conditioning, so it was HOT.
Collection of physicians’ teas. If we were in the U.S., this cart would have a collection of Starbucks coffee cups:
Cupping cups:
We watched our professor perform acupuncture on some patients. The patient I saw had been suffering from insomnia. After receiving acupuncture, he fell asleep very quickly and was heard snoring in the hospital room! Of course, he may have just been exhausted :) Our professor gave one of us acupuncture in a “safety” point (note: this is NOT my arm – also, if you’re squeamish at all about any kind of needle, avert your eyes from the next picture):
Our professor also performed acupressure on some of us. One important TCM theory states that problems occurring in the body will often show up on your surface (i.e. your skin), and that they can also be treated from the surface. For example, different parts of the ear correspond to different area of the body. By applying pressure, internal problems can be resolved.
Tiny seeds that will help create pressure at certain points in the ear when taped to the skin:
Our professor treating a woman suffering from constipation:
Like I mentioned in this post, TCM is a slower medicine, so patients often return several times for treatment. For people with mild conditions who prefer a non-drug approach, these TCM practices can help. (Of course, herbal medicine is a different story. I might devote a whole post to that later.)
When the professor looked at my ear, he said I looked very healthy and that there was nothing to treat (yes!). He ended up applying a pressure point to the area that prevents/relieves headaches.
Cool! I walked around with the tape on for a few days and blended right into the crowd :)
Some pictures of an herb-collecting trip on Ling Mountain in the Beijing countryside (no, that is not an oxymoron):
Yes, we hiked to the top of the mountain.
At the top!
A few random images from nighttime in Beijing:
Who knew a city could have such beauty?
Finally, one for fun:
In our local grocery store.
I’m signing off for now – stay tuned for a personal Jessie-led tour of some of Beijing’s most thrilling sights, a (possible) introduction to herbal medicine, and, of course, FOOD! I hope everyone is doing well in their parts of the world! :)
