Long Gone

Oh, little second Blog, how I have ignored you. Between travelling and illness and moving (yes, Again...it is becoming a hobby!) I haven't been able to think, much less write.

The season is changing slowly but surely. Fall is creeping in and I couldn't be more excited. To me, fall is the season that really starts the year. Maybe it was too long in schools, maybe it is because I abhor hot weather, but either way I always think of Sept as the beginning. This year feels that way especially. My life looks much different than I thought it would, both good and bad. I am hoping that as the leaves change and fall, so too will my sadness and grief. That chilly mornings and brisk afternoons will awaken me. Plus, the culinary possibilities are so different from Spring and Summer. Pumpkins and Apples everywhere! Root vegetables and warm soups. Football and chili.

I am ready.

Zucchini love

I must confess that I don't actually love zucchini. I just love cooking with it. With broccoli at something crazy a pound (for organic) I've been looking for cheaper ways to put green things in the diet. So I've started cooking with zucchini. I slice it for veggie stir fries and soups or shred it for pasta and meatloaf. One of my favorite things to do with zucchini right now is to shred a huge pile of it and add it to chopped onions that I've already got cooking in my deep cast iron skillet. I'll sautee the whole thing up with some grape seed oil until tender then mix in basil pesto, a sprinkle of red pepper flakes, and finish with a drizzle of olive oil. I put the whole thing over a plate of spaghetti smothered in sauce full of homemade turkey meatballs. With a side of Caesar salad you can't beat it. The other slightly inventive thing I do with zucchini is grate it up for meatloaf. Sometimes I'll do an Italian inspired meatloaf with plenty of garlic, onion, and Italian seasonings. This time around Allen has requested a bbq version with zucchini, onion, bell pepper, bbq sauce, and chunks of cheddar cheese. Yummy.

For not being a huge veggie person (gasp), I'm learning that there are some very tasty ways to cook up some of our humbler comestibles. The main thing I've learned from all this though is when in doubt pesto, olive oil, and fresh grated parm make just about anything better.

Adventures in cooking

Since David and I have both finished reading In Defense of Food, and returned from Scotland, I've been attempting to make more recipes completely from scratch, meatless, and whole food-ish. My finished products have been pretty successful and delicious, but this week has been pretty dissuading.
First, I made dal. It was horrid. This was my second attempt, with a different recipe, and although I keep telling myself that, although I am not of Indian lineage, it can't be that hard to make good Indian food. Wrong. I'm leaving that to Taj from now on.
Second, I made the peach crumble that Mrs. Hall posted. I completed the cooling process and dug in with reckless abandon and noticed immediately that something was very wrong. I was thinking, why is this supposed to be good. I then returned to the recipe and realized that I missed a pretty crucial ingredient - sugar. Not so good without sugar folks.
Yesterday I took on the task of making pizza. I made the dough and sauce, and got one of those soft mozzarella blocks to shred myself. 10 hours and much scrambling and cleaning later, it came out pretty good, but was it really worth it? Probably not. The dough was not too difficult, but that sauce was a pain.
So, there isn't really a lesson to the story, other than that being a amateur chef isn't as easy as it looks. But it never really looked easy. It just sucks when you slave away, soaking the beans, chopping those one billion veggies into fine chunks, and destroying your home, and in the end what you produce is mediocre at best and I have to call the husband and say "You might want to grab some food on the way home".

Simply Summer

One of our favorite summer recipes is a simple fruit crumble. It is a wonderful way to highlight seasonal fruit - without the fuss of pastry. With peaches at their August peak, our oven has been working over-time.

Simple Fruit Crumble

serves 6 to 8, 10 min. prep, 1 hr. total time

4-5 peaches (blueberries are another favorite)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup + 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
pinch of salt
5-6 tablespoons of cold butter, cut in small pieces

1. preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. halve, pit, peel and thinly slice peaches
3. place peaches in 9-inch baking dish and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of flour
4. mix remaining flour, sugar, salt and spices in bowl
5. add butter and mix with pastry cutter or hands until butter resembles course meal

6. for extra crunch, squeeze small bits of topping together - yummy!
7. refrigerate crumble topping for 20-30 minutes
8. top peaches with crumble and bake for 20-25 minutes, until bubbling and golden

Enjoy!

It's all gone Pear Shaped

I have a large, beautiful tree in the green space behind my apartment. I love this tree. As Spring approached I noticed that it was fruiting. To my chagrin, I could not figure out what these fruit were...crab apples, walnuts? Nothing quite fit, or tasted right (I have a habit of tasting green things). It has been baffling and, honestly, a bit frustrating.

Well, lately the squirrels and birds have been going absolutely crazy over this tree. I see them carrying fruit that is as big as they are to and from the tree. It is like Woodland Creature Land over there. So today I decided to go back and research some more. Wasn't I surprised when the the fruit looked a PEAR, albeit an underripe pear, but a pear nonetheless. So I bit into it...hmmm...tastes faintly of a pear. I went inside and cut it open. Seeds just like a pear, grainy texture like a pear, thick stem like a pear.

1/2 hour of research later I have concluded that they are in fact PEARS!!! I am still trying to figure out what sort of pear it is, but it is undoubtedly a pear tree. I believe it is a Bradford Pear Tree, or an Asian Pear. but I am not 100% sure. This is exciting news to say the least. I am not sure if the fruit is edible, but I intend to find out. The birds and squirrels certainly think so. Now if only they would leave my strawberries and lemons alone and gorge on Pears instead!

How to Eat Supper

In my days in the book world, I am lucky enough to get a LOT of books. Cookbooks are a weakness of mine and I have a hard time turning any down that come my way. Just today I recieved 2 (one about Goat Cheese and Gordon Ramsey's Fast Food).

My favorite these days is The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper. The Splendid Table has a weekly podcast that I listen to whenever I can (you can download it for free if you don't catch the show on NPR). Lynne Rossetto Kasper is downright wonderful. She loves food and it shows in every recipe she shares, every story she tells. She and Sally Swift just came out with this cookbook, all about getting Supper to the table. Recipes that don't take more than 30 or so minutes but don't sacrifice taste, good ingredients or health. I have tried about 4 recipes and loved each one.

Today I will share the most recent one I tried (well, the white beans I have actually made twice, but who's counting?!).

Salmon Pan Roast with Garlic Shavings and Basil on Fresh Greens, coupled with Warm White Bean Salad with Fragrant Garlic and Rosemary.

Salmon Pan Roast with Garlic Shavings and Basil on Fresh Greens:
serves 4, 5 min. prep, 10 min stove time

1 5 oz. bag (or 4 handfuls) of fresh Spring Greens or mesclun mix
1/4 lb. Fresh sugar snap peas ( I used fresh green beans from the garden), coarse chopped
12 fresh basil leaves
4 small wild Salmon steaks of filets (1 inch thick), or other firm fleshed fish
Good tasting Extra Virgin Olive Oil (I used Publix generic!)
1/4 teaspoon salt (sea salt is always best)
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
3 large garlic cloves, sliced paper thin
12 fresh basil leaves, torn into large pieces
2/3 cup dry white wine
lemon wedges

1. divide the greens among 4 dinner plates. Scatter the peas and 12 torn leaves on top.
2. Rinse the salmon and pat to dry. Examine for any tiny bones and remove.
3. Lightly Oil a slant sided 12 inch skillet (I used regular skillet) with the oil, and heat is over medium high. Season the Salmon on both sides with the salt and pepper. Slip them into the skillet and sear for a minute on each side, turning carefully.
4. Sprinkle the garlic and basil leaves around the fish. Turn the heat down to medium low, cover skillet and cook 6-7 minutes, turning fish midway through, or until the fish is just firm when pressed. it should be barely opaque near the center.
5. Remove fish from skillet and keep it warm. add the wine to skillet, turn heat to high and stir, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom. Simmer until the pan juices are sizzling and syrupy.
6. Drizzle the hot sauce over the greens and top them with the salmon. At the table, squeeze the lemon wedges over the fish and greens.

Warm White Bean Salad with Fragrant Garlic and Rosemary
serves 3 to 4, 15 min prep, 10 min stove time.

I fixed this as a main course once and it fed 2 of us fully.

1/2 slice coarse whole grain bread, course ground in a food processor (2 generous tablespoons crumbs)
3 tablespoons fresh grated Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese (NEVER scripm on Parm!)
Generous 1/4 tablespoon fresh ground black pepper
5 large garlic cloves, crushed with 1/2 tsp salt and coarse chopped
1/4 cup Good tasting Extra V. Olive Oil (again, I used Publix)
1/2 tight packed tblspoon fresh rosemary leaves, coarse chopped
Two 15 oz. cans Organic White beans (cannellini or Great Northern), drained and rinsed.
1 large handful salad greens
add'l salt and ground pepper

1. In a 12 inch skillet or saute pan over medium heat, toast the bread crumbs until lightly browned, stirring often. Transfer to small bowl and set aside to cool. Once cool, stir in the Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese and pepper. set aside.
2. In the same pan, slowly warm the garlic in the olive oil over low heat for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Stir in the rosemary, blending together for another minute or so, taking care not to burn the garlic. It should be very fragrant and beginning to soften.
3. Immediately add the beans and fold them in VERY gently. Turn the heat to medium. Heat the beans through, about 3 minutes, occasionally lifting and turning them as they heat, as stirring with cause them to mush. Add the greens and gently move them around in the pan until the are slightly wilted, 30 sec to 1 minute. Turn into a serving bowl, top with the bread crumb mixture and season with salt and pepper.

These 2 recipes guarantee a great night! With a beer or some wine-Voila!

let me know if you try them and what you think.

welcome!

We have a new contributor-Kristen Hall.

She has a lovely garden and an adorable house and home! Plus a cute husband and daughter...

Yeah growing!