Laws of May

I am absolutely process-oriented, never goal-oriented. This leads to a house full of half-finished books, paintings, and knitting projects. If I did not enjoy eating so much, I'd be at risk of serving half-finished dinners.

This is the problem with most diets and self-improvement plans. I like the idea of a smaller pants size or a cleaner refrigerator, but these goals don't hold my attention enough to follow through with the (typically unpleasant) processes they require.

Behold! My fellow illustrious bloggers' Laws of May: earn points for honestly ticking off the month's challenges each day. The goal of a happy/healthy diet/home/body/mind will follow.

Drink more water: already a habit. Sit-ups: I think I remember these from high school. Go alcohol-free: I hear it helps with allergies. I also replaced two original goals (limit home computer use to 1 hour, attend free events) with 1 hour of reading for class, and 1 hour of working on my final paper.

To show my commitment, I've placed the chart in a brand-new, shiny sheet protector and attached it to a clipboard with a Very Official red Sharpie.

Following tonight's ice cream (and beer) social at work, I will welcome May and all its goals.

Coffee with my name on it ...

I'm not sure how we ran out of coffee without noticing well in advance, but the threat of an empty french press sent us on an emergency grocery store run last night. Also, someone wanted peanut-butter cups.

It was a bit too late for a trip across town, so we opted for Safeway in Greenwood. Amid a pretty standard (boring) coffee selection, I spotted a small section of bright, cartoonish labels. Then I saw my name in print, and knew it was destiny. Time to try a new brand: Raven's Brew

Wicked Wolf blend is dark and balanced, no striking notes, but I can happily envision the suggestion of trying it with chocolate. It went well enough with raisin bran this morning.

The roaster offers an array of other inventive labels. The breakfast blend looks standard, the Resurrection blend looks revelatory. I can't vouch for all the varieties, but they're certainly more fun to look at than the blah brown bags of better-known brands.

Bird is the word: spatchcock

Repeat after me: Spatchcock!

Everyday Food tells me this is the proper term for chicken, etc, when you remove the backbone and flatten it for cooking. The technique offers quick roasting (~30 minutes) and thoroughly-crisped skin, plus an opportunity to shout "Spatchcock!!" at your guests or significant other all evening. Instructions here.

In truth, I didn't actually have a whole chicken available for spatchcocking. So I tested a recipe from the magazine with chicken thighs, and it was pretty fantastic, plus speedy and cheap. I'll try again with the real butterflied bird. In case you can't spare $3 for the magazine, here's a summary of the "recipes:"

• Spatchcock Chicken
• ... with Potatoes: Roast chicken with potatoes. Garnish with thyme.
• ... with Chickpeas: Roast chicken with chickpeas. Garnish with cilantro and lime.
• ... Chicken with Tomatoes: Roast chicken with smallish tomatoes and 1/2 C white wine. Garnish with basil.

Above is the chicken with chick peas (also known as garbanzo beans, a name I prefer because it reminds me of muppets). I'm sure you can dream up your own creative variations on flattened poultry, along with ways to use this word in everyday conversation.

I don't think I'd mind doing more dishes by hand if I had a few of these lovely towels to dry them with. Check out ToDryFor.com's ridiculously expansive collection of graphic tea towels. And the best part -- all are reasonably priced at around $10 or less! Would make for a great Mother's Day present, no?

Broccoli & Chickipea puree

I made hummus the other day, after blogging about the white bean spread, and will definitely try this Broccoli & Spinach puree from NYTimes.com next. I love the green, and this would be a nice way to use up an odd amount of leftover broccoli.

Salmon Cake! Or maybe not ...

Browsing Martha Stewart's recent gallery of 50 Salmon recipes, I came across this Salmon Cake. Yes, Salmon Cake.

Fortunately, what looks like chocolate and frosting are actually rye bread and cream cheese. Unfortunately, it still looks like a cake decorated with fish eggs. Check out the full recipe here, or opt for one of the more appetizing presentations: perhaps the fancy-enough-for-guests Salmon with Fennel and Oranges, or the one-dish baked Salmon with Cous Cous Pilaf.

Simple Bread Spreads: White Bean

I received this very As-Seen-On-TV spinning/pulling/chopping gadget for Christmas. While the device definitely does not chop neatly enough for most uses, I've discovered it minces like magic, and provides a 'rustic' (not entirely smooth) puree in moments.

So here's the first little dip I made recently: white bean with olive oil. It's super easy -- just don't get too laissez faire and or your liable to forget, for example, all of the parsley.

White Bean Dip with Parsley Oil (or just oil, in my case)

Food & Wine magazine

Ingredients

• 1 C dried white beans (I used navy, which always confuse me because I expect them to be blue)
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1 thyme sprig
• 1 bay leaf
• 3/4 C extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt and fresh pepper
• 1 C flat-leaf parsley leaves
• 1 C celery leaves

Cover the beans with 2 inches of water in a saucepan. Add garlic, thyme and bay. Bring to a boil, then simmering for about two hours, stirring occasionally and adding water to maintain level.

Drain, reserving 1/3 C of the cooking liquid. Remove herbs, and transfer beans, garlic, cooking liquid and 1/4 C of the olive oil to a food processor. Puree. Season with salt and pepper. Here's where I used the spinning/chopping gadget (officially the Chef'n VeggiChop). It worked perfectly, and was way less mess than the food processor.

Very finely mince the parsley and celery leaves, then add to the remaining olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer the white bean dip to a shallow bowl, and pour olive oil mixture on top. Or, if you have forgotten the entire part about parsley, just top with plain olive oil and season with extra salt and pepper.

Reputation Redemption, In Cabbage Soup

Tudors, Kardashians. Of all the bad family reputations, those crucifers have the worst: always an outcast, rarely praised (despite being high in vitamin C and fiber). But while cabbage soup sounds like unpleasant peasant food, this is actually one of the few recipes I make repeatedly without trying to improve.

In the standard recipe from my trusty Bittman book, a little butter makes everything worthwhile. In the "Asian" variation (above, and below), soy sauce and ginger cloak the versatile vegetable in a totally different disguise.

Cabbage soup, Asian style

From How To Cook Everything

Ingredients

• 1 head of cabbage, napa preferred
• 3 T peanut or other vegetable oil
• 1 large onion, sliced (I used a red onion)
• 1 T minced ginger
• 2 T soy sauce (plus extra, to taste)
• 5 C stock (chicken, beef, or vegetable), warmed
• Fresh lemon or lime juice, or white wine, or vinegar (whichever you prefer, for acid)

Core and shred cabbage. Heat oil in a large pan over medium, then pile in onion and cabbage. Cook until both are just slightly browned, roughly 20 minutes -- this seems like a very long time, but you want the cabbage super soft. Stir in ginger and cook for a few moments, then add soy sauce and stock. Once heated thoroughly, add 1 or more tablespoons of lemon juice (or alternative).