Starry Wisdom

Last night I had some friends over for Hanukkah dinner. I made a bunch of things, but the two things I want to talk about the most are the some of the side dishes. Tonight I’m going to talk about the relatively healthy one, Kasha Varnishkes – which are buckwheat groats and bowtie pasta. The buckwheat is a very nutty/earthy grain, which is a great complement to a hearty meat dish, such as the brisket I served.

Kasha Varniskes
From The Frugal Gourmet on Our Immigrant Ancestors by Jeff Smith.
Serves at least 4, and up to 8.

1 Cup kasha (buckwheat groats)
1 egg, well beaten
2 tablespoons rendered chicken fat or vegetable oil (I had a plethora of fat from the chicken soup I made)
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 Cups chicken stock
1 Cup bowtie pasta
Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Start water boiling for pasta, but do not cook yet
2. In a small bowl mix the kasha and the egg, make sure all the grains are coated with the egg. Put a medium nonstick fry-pan over medium high heat, and cook the kasha egg mixture, stirring and pushing down with a wooden spoon, until the egg dries and the grains are mostly seperated. Set aside.
3. In a heavy 4 quart pan pan, heat the fat or oil and saute the onion until translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add the kasha and salt and pepper to taste. Stir and cover. Reduce heat to low, and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes, until the kasha is tender, and the liquid is absorbed. Cook the bowties at the same time.
4. Add drained, al dente cooked bowties to the buckwheat. Mix well and serve hot.

Stay tuned for a MUCH less healthy side dish in the coming days!

Today was my last day at the Job that I’ve had for the past 8 years. Well sort of, in that the company name was different (as we were acquired by Cisco 4 and a half years ago), and my position was slightly different – but things were probably more similar than not, even to this day. But sometimes, one needs a change, and I guess it was that time for me.

I’m starting a new job, at a small place – the smallest place I’ve ever worked at – on Monday. There will only be three of us here in the Bay Area, but there are more in Portland and elsewhere. IronPort was fairly small at around 100 people when I joined in 2003, and grew many times over before we were bought by Cisco, which was two orders of magnitude bigger. I miss working for a small company.

Still, leaving today – handing in my badge and laptop was weird. Saying farewell (not goodbye, I hope) to my coworkers of eight years was, well, awkward and sad. But, like I said, I guess it was time for me, so I’ll get over it. And I’m really excited to get started at the new place on Monday (which, for the near future, will be located in my dining room, as they are still negotiating a lease for a SF office).