Blog about a blog

We were in Vancouver, British Columbia and searching for activities when I came accross a blog about the Granville Island farmers market which discussed the produce in season at the end of July. I read a post about Mangosteen, which I'd heard of because it is a flavor of yogurt I buy, but I didn't know much about it.  After reading the post, we headed straight over to find some.

The experience was definitely worth trying, just because the fruit and it's package was so unusual for what we typically find even in our exotic markets.  The flavor was good, the texture I found just a tad too slippery for my taste, and of course, it was quite expensive. 

Summer Rainbow

I wish I'd done a better job photographing this meal, because it was the most festive, summery, fresh, and balanced meal I did all season. 

Grilled Halibut with Peach-Tomato Salsa

Drizzle a couple tablespoons of lime juice over halibut filet, then salt and pepper and allow to rest an hour or two.

For salsa, dice 1 peach, 1 tomato, 1 jalepeno (or to taste), handful cilantro, and mix with a teaspoon of lime juice and season with salt.

Lightly brush grill with olive oil, then grill fish until flakey and white all the way through. Serve with salsa.


Cabbage and Corn Slaw with Cilantro-Orange Dressing (recipe here)

 

Balsamic-Feta Barley

Saute ½ cup chopped onions in 1 tbsp olive oil.

When becoming translucent, add ¾ cup barley to coat with oil.

Stir in 1 -2 cloves minced garlic.

Add one can chicken broth, cover, bring to boil, then simmer for 30-40 minutes.

Meanwhile, dice 1 large tomato. Toss with 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar, 1-2 tsp olive oil, and pepper to taste (do not use salt, as the broth and the cheese will be salty). When barley is cooked through, toss with tomato and refridgerate. Sprinkle with 1/3 cup crumbled feta and serve chilled or at room temperature.

Tomatoes to Use Up

Last week I saw some lovely Campari tomatos on sale so I bought three pounds. As the week wore on, and I'd only thrown the rare one or two into a salad, I realized I needed to start using them up quickly. Last night, we were having mahi mahi, so I made this gratin to go with it. It was so colorful (sorry there's no photo) and full of vegetables, I didn't even bother with a salad.

Tonight I made a one-dish meal of Black Bean Soup. Soups are so versatile, you can really throw in whatever you want, and mix and match based on your tastes, but this turned out so well, I'll probably stick to the recipe next time.

Potato-Tomato Gratin with ZucchiniServes 4

Ingredients:
3 T. olive oil
1 cup sliced/chopped onion
1 ½ - 2 pounds tomatoes
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 T. tomato paste
½ - 1 t. crushed red pepper flakes
¼ cup red wine
1 medium zucchini, sliced into ½ inch slices, then cut cross-wise into quarters
Handful herbs (basil and oregano, or your favorites)
2 medium yukon gold potatoes
½ cup shredded parmesan cheese
½ cup panko (or breadcrumbs)
1 T. butter

In large frying pan, saute onion in olive oil until translucent.

Dice tomatoes and add to onion along with garlic.

Stir in red pepper and tomato paste and cook over medium low heat until tomatoes are breaking down, stirring periodically.

When tomato juices start to thicken, add wine and zucchini and continue to stir.

While this is cooking, slice the potato as thinly as possible – about 1/8 in thick. Line a 10” round pan with the an overlapping layer of potatoes.

When the tomato sauce mixture is sufficiently thickened, stir in the herbs. Then layer half the mixture over the potatoes. Top with a layer of the remaining potatoes, then the remaining sauce.

Mix the parmesan, panko and butter together and sprinkle over the top layer of sauce. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.




Black Bean Soup
Six servings

Cover 1/2 pound dried black beans with water, and simmer about one hour until just starting to get tender. (Or used two cans beans, rinsed well.)

1/2 large onion, diced
1 pound tomatos, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp tomato paste

Coat the bottom of a large stock pot with olive oil and heat over medium heat. Add onion and saute until translucent. Stir in tomatoes and garlic, and cook - covered - over medium heat until tomatoes release their juice and begin to wilt, about 10 minutes.

2 small or 1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced into 1/2" cubes

Add sweet potato to tomato mixture along with 2-3 cups chicken (or vegetable) broth. Cover and simmer 12 minutes.

1/2 large green bell pepper
2 carrots, halved lengthwise and cut crosswise into 1/2" thick moons
jalepeno or other pepper to taste
2 tbsp chopped fresh oregano (or 2 tsp dried)
(corn would be good too!)

Add the beans and remaining vegetables to tomato mixture. Add additional broth if necessary to keep ingredients covered, and continue to simmer covered on low heat at least 30 minutes and up to two hours.

Use an immersion blender to puree about half the soup (or pour some into your blender or food processor). Just before serving, stir in 1/4 cup sherry wine (apple cider vinegar can be substitued). Serve hot in bowls, with a garnish of sour cream (or good yogurt) and chopped fresh cilantro.

A great beverage to accompany this is a pineapple spritzer - part pineapple juice with sparkling water and a cilantro spring garnish.

Stuffed Acorn Squash

Stuffed Acorn Squash
Serves 2

1 small acorn squash
½ cup brown or wild rice
2 sausage links, desired flavor
½ yellow onion, chopped
garlic
8-10 chopped dates
¼ cup Sherry
Cinnamon
Cumin
Cardamom
Toasted pine nuts

Cut squash in half lengthwise, brush with olive oil, and broil for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, cook rice according to package directions less 15 minutes.

Brown sausage, and transfer meat to another bowl. Into sausage drippings, add additional olive oil if necessary, and brown onion and garlic. Add semi-cooked rice (drain, but reserve cooking water), and stir to coat. Splash with sherry, and allow to absorb. Slowly add rice cooking water and simmer until absorbed, also stirring in chopped dates and reserved sausage. Season with spices, salt, and pepper. Stir in pine nuts. Spoon filling into squash halves and sprinkle with grated parmesan. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

Stalk of Sprouts

I'm sure many of you saw this yourselves, and it's not especially amazing, but I just like it.  For those of you that didn't see it or don't recognize it, this was at the Ballard Trader Joes, and it is a stalk of Brussels sprouts still on the stem.

February Update

This ended up being something really yummy and quick to do with Brussels: cut them cross-wise into shavings so they fall apart into threads. Make them as thin as possible, or as thin as you like. Toss them with a bit of olive oil, whole grain mustard, salt, and pepper, and bake at 450 for about 20 minutes, stirring once half-way through. I used four large brussels in shaved into a 9"x5" loaf pan for two servings. They were sweet, crispy around the edges, and wholesome warming for a winter's evening.

Entertaining a Pescatarian

One of our friends is a pescatarian (vegetarian who eats fish) and she was bringing her new boyfriend to meet us for the first time, so I wanted a delicious dinner that would impress, but also be easy to prepare in advance so I could spend all my time getting to know him. I decided to make Yucatecan-Style Grilled Mahi Mahi and I developed this starchy side and green salad to pair with the flavors:

Corn and Sweet Potato SaladServes 6

2 small sweet potatoes or 1 large
2 ears of corn (preferably yellow, for color)
2 carrots (preferable purple, for color)
½ fresh basil leaves, chiffonaded
½ jalepeno, minced

Dressing:
2 T olive oil
1 T fresh lime juice
¼ t kosher salt

Dice sweet potato into small chunks and boil/steam just until tender (about 10 minutes).

Grill corn on the cob until some ears are starting to blacken. Cut kernels from cob.

Half carrots lengthwise, then crosswise in slices.

Mix dressing ingredients together, then toss all ingredients in dressing.


Arugula Salad with Peaches

3 T. olive oil
1 T. fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/4 t. kosher salt
4 oz arugula
2 small, ripe peaches, peeled and sliced *
2 T. spiced pepitas **

Mix 3 dressing ingredients together with a whisk, or I like to just put them in a jar, screw down the lid, and shake it vigorously.

You can mix this salad together in a bowl, but it's prettier (and not too time consuming for only four servings) if you plate it individually. Toss the sliced peaches in 1/3 of the dressing just to coat. Separately, toss the arugula in the remaining dressing. Arrange peach slices in a fan atop a serving of greens, then sprinkle with pepitas.

* Peaches (and tomatoes too) can be dipped for a couple of seconds into a pan of boiling water, and then plunged into an ice water bath to make them easy to peel. However, I've found that when peaches are ripe-ready to eat, they peel very easily without this step.

** Trader Joes sells pepitas in the nut section, and they can be purchased in the bulk food section of natural foods markets.

Middle-Eastern Menu

A couple summers ago, we made plum wine with some friends.  We don't really enjoy drinking this vintage, but I knew I could figure out something else to do with it. I was thinking of a salad dressing or marinade, but I ended up instead developing a recipe for sorbet.  I made it first for family and it was a huge hit, so because of the story behind it, it became one of my favorite things to make for guests in the summer.  Recently, we were having another couple to dinner on a Monday night, and I wanted to make the sorbet for them. Along with the plums, the flavoring is heavily spiced of cinnamon and peppercorn, so I wanted to build a menu around those rich, warm flavors (also developed by the still sunny but briskly oncoming fall weather of Seattle September).  I also wanted recipes that I could shop for and prepare somewhat in advance since I wouldn't have a ton of time to fuss around after work, and that would create a main course as impressive as dessert. I succeeded. These items all come together so quickly, and cook for such a short period to time, that it is quite easy to get on the table with minimal time away from your guests but a lovely presentation.

Moroccan Style Lamb and Carrots with Chickpea Puree (click here).
These carrots roasted in a simple oil dressing were outstandingly delicious, and were just as good cold and again reheated the next day. The recipe calls for a pretty high ratio of oil mix, I would cut it about by half. And make sure to check the thickness of your chops - mine were almost 2 inches thick, so needed more time.

Note: my back-up entree was Lebanese Chicken. I ended up making this for myself the next day, and the rub was excellent, but the flavors didn't really infuse the meat, though as an entree, it also would have worked well in this menu.


Turkish Zucchini Pancakes (click here).


Cous Cous with Toasted Pistachios and Golden Raisins
Cook the cous cous in chicken broth, then stir in toasted, chopped pistachios (or pine nuts) and drizzle with olive oil. Be sure to allow guests to salt to taste.

Plum Wine Sorbet with Cornmeal Cookies

The recipe for the plum wine is:

1 12-oz bottle plum wine (ours was homemade, by a recipe our friends found online)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups water
2 3-in cinnamon sticks
20 peppercorns
1 T lemon juice

Simmer ingredients together until sugar dissolves. Cover and chill overnight. Strain into ice cream maker and follow manufacturers instructions.

Unlike many homemade ice creams, this sorbet stays soft in the freezer, although it melts very quickly.

Serve with cookies. Instead of patting the cookie dough into rounds, I roll it into a log before refrigerating, then simply cut the log into slices and bake. I like smaller two-bite cookies, especially for company after a larger meal.