Brunch, Bentos, Beets - and Andrew Bird

Laziness has led to one of these all-in-one posts. Saw St. Vincent and Andrew Bird last night - a wonderful show (there's a pretty good write-up at DCist, which alas doesn't mention the new duet "Lusitania" - one of the concert's highlights). I'd never seen St. Vincent live before, and am now regretting not catching her earlier this year at the Cat - her music's much more powerful, complex and interesting live. The Bird portion of the evening seemed even tighter and better than his last 9:30 show, even before taking the St. Vincent collaborations into account.

UPDATE: Found footage of their "Oh Sister" cover, complete with the utterly charming mess-up.

And now to brunch. Last Sunday, we had rosemary and lamb sausages (from Canales at Eastern Market - one of their in-house products), couscous and spinach - which is how I discovered yet another time-saving shortcut. Chop and wash the spinach (nice and fresh from one of the weekend vendors - a bulging plastic grocery bag full cost only $3!) while the water is coming to a boil. Once you've added the couscous, let the water return to a boil, wait a few seconds (so the greens have a fairly solid clump of carbs to land on), throw in the spinach, put the lid on the pot, wait a few more seconds then remove from heat. The spinach was perfectly steamed after a 5-6 minute wait.

Did much the same thing with some chicken and portebello mushroom sausages for Monday's bento; Wednesday and Thursdays consisted of John's meatloaf (UPDATE: recipe here), rice and a few cornichons to counterpoint the ketchupy sweetness.

And now to the week's pickling - beets, this time. I can't find the recipe we used right now, but John put up a bunch of beets, 6 eggs and an onion in two jars. Just 24 hours later, they were delicious - even more so another day later. I can still remember the tart, sweet, earthiness of the egg he fed me right before we left for the concert last night.

Today's Bento

The office is particularly cold today, so I'm warming my stiff little fingers (alas, couldn't find YouTube footage of "Here We Are Nowhere") with a brief what's-for-lunch post. Mr. Bento's contents:

• red grapes
• braised leeks (2 medium-sized leeks halved, then cut into 4-inch lengths. Saute in a tbsp of butter for about 5 minutes or until browning, turning once or twice and seasoning with salt and pepper; add 1/4-1/3 cup chicken broth or water, bring to a boil, then turn the heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 mins or till very tender. Remove from heat, drizzle with lemon juice (or, if you're packing it, just throw a couple of lemon slices in alongside)
• rice
• sardines in tomato sauce (straight out of the tin - was too lazy to saute them with onions and garlic)
  

I also have an orange, a banana and maybe 1/4 cup of leftover garlic cracker nuts in reserve.

It Started With a Mixx: Sinigang Na Baboy (Sour Pork Soup)

Instead of trying to find the perfect match between pretentious and pop, I'm trying to balance pre-made soup seasoning with from-scratch flavor. Plus, I haven't had the familiar old Knorr sinigang mix in years, and am curious to see if the reality lives up to my fond memories.

• 2 tbsp. vegetable oil
• 5-7 cloves garlic, smashed
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 4 small Roma tomatoes, chopped
• 10 cups water
• 2 to 2-1/2 lbs. baby back ribs
• 1 packet Knorr sinigang mix (ended up using a heaping tbsp. more from another packet)
  
• 1 lb. green beans (12 oz. this time)
  
• 6 oz. spinach, chopped

Put oil in a large pot over medium heat. Saute the garlic, onions and tomatoes till soft, about 3-5 minutes.

Add water. Turn heat to high and bring to a boil. Add the meat, return to a boil, then simmer till the meat's tender - about an hour, maybe more.

Add contents of soup mix packet; stir to mix well.

Add green beans. Return to a boil and cook for 3-6 minutes, till beans are softer but still crisp.

Add spinach. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for 5 minutes.

11:30 pm: Turned out to be as strong, flavorful (with a smooth, almost creamy undertone - probably from all the pork fat and marrow) and comforting as I remember. While I'll keep making the from-scratch version (and looking out for tamarinds to try another variant with), I'll certainly treat myself to this now and then.