Pickle Salad

Perhaps you, like me, have some jars of fermented pickles in your fridge that will not taste as delicious soon, and are finding it time to make a move on them. Perhaps you also, like me, ate too much hollandaise and eggs benedict for lunch and needed a lighter dinner. 😂 

Here then is a good move: Pickle Salad. I though about substituting pickles for cukes in a tabouli sort of salad, but then I did a search to see if any recipes would come up - one from Bon Appetit did, which I used as inspiration for this dish. I didn't have fennel though, and instead used parsley and tomatoes, meaning I still sort of went with the tabouli salad idea! I thought it was great, and will make it again, especially since I still have tomatoes turning red on the counter and fresh parsley in the fridge. The toasted walnuts and Parmesan are especially delicious in there.

• ½ cup walnuts
• 4 whole pickles, halved lengthwise, sliced crosswise into 1" pieces, plus 3 Tbsp. picklebrine 
• 3 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
• 2 tsp. Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp. honey or monkfruit sweetener
  
• ¼ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
• ½ small white or red onion, thinly sliced
  
• Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper 
  
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved  
  1 banana pepper, finely chopped
• ½ cup parsley, shopped
  
• 2 oz. Parmesan, shaved
  
• Extra-virgin olive oil (for drizzling)
  

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Toast walnuts on a rimmed baking sheet, tossing once, until golden brown, 8–10 minutes. Let cool; coarsely chop.

Meanwhile, whisk pickle brine, vinegar, mustard, honey/sweetener, and red pepper flakes in a large bowl. Add onion and season with salt and pepper. Let sit to allow onion to soften slightly, at least 5 minutes and up to 15 minutes.

Add walnuts, pickles, tomatoes, pepper, parsley and Parmesan to dressing and toss to coat. Transfer salad to a large shallow bowl or platter (or individual bowls) and drizzle with oil.

Fermented Salsa

To add to the ferments of the season: fermented salsa is now one of my favorites! How did I not know this before? I pretty much never do traditional canning, which means the bottom of my fridge is full of jars of things since I have to store the ferments there instead of a pantry. I seem to have enough room, and it means I get so much more good bacteria! (My freezer holds the remaining berries and tomatoes and sauces.)

I made my first batch of salsa about a month ago, and it is still tasting great in the fridge. The online recipe inspiring this one says that the salsa lasts a couple of months in the fridge. So, this is not a long-term ferment (like kraut that will last for 2 years), but more a shorter-term one (similar, in my experience, to cucumber pickles). 

You can use whatever combination of salsa ingredients you like - my version is below based on what was in my garden and following salt recommendation from the link above. It is a much more liquid-y ferment due to the tomatoes and lime juice, and it doesn't take long - a few days or so on the counter. *I used the food processor for my first batch for everything but the tomatoes, which resulted in a thinner/saucier salsa. The 2nd time I chopped by hand and I like the texture better because everything is more uniform in size and more chunky.

Finely chop the following for 1 quart plus another pint of salsa:

• 2 pounds tomatoes
• 2 jalapenos
• 1 mild pepper
• 3-6 cloves garlic (mine were really big so I just used 3)
• juice of 2 limes
• 1 T salt 
• opt bunch of cilantro (I did not use because mine is mostly done in the garden)

I topped mine off with a horseradish leaf (or you can use an oak leaf) to increase tanin and keep things crisper, which I then use as the top to keep the ingredients submerged under the liquid. I don't know if the tanins are helpful here, but I did it anyway (you could also use a collard leaf or half pepper or whatever). In the photo you can see that for the pint jar I use a rock on top of the leaf, and for the quart jar I used this coil spring fermentation product I got at fleet farm a month or so ago. It works, and presses the ingredients down extra firmly once the lid is on (see photo above where it is just red liquid in the top 1/4 of the jar).

Let sit out 3-4 days, until the taste is to your liking, depending on temperatures. The warmer it is, the shorter fermentation time needed. Store in the fridge for up to 2 months. 

I ate some on a taco salad, and attempted to make little kale tacos another night, which were really tasty and a total mess: young kale leafs wrapped around meat, avocado and salsa filling.

Meat Stuffed Eggplant (Garni Yarikh)

This is another Bottom of the Pot recipe. It was perfect comfort food to me on this cooler, summer day. I have been attending a virtual training about complex trauma the past several days, specifically around narcissism and how it underlies all of the destructive things we do: loving the image we have of ourselves, and hating what is really there. It is a bit, um, intense. So comfort food seems pretty nice! 

*Also nice was my walk yesterday evening in the warm wind just after sunset, passing two little girls in hijabs singing out really loudly towards the lake as they trailed behind their dad. They were singing a song from Moana, which I watched a month or two ago and loved, about the light on the sea being blinding and calling them. I found the whole scene such a delight.

I love roasted eggplant, and this recipe really takes it to a whole new level. Author Naz Deravian says that Garni Yarikh is Turkish for "split belly," referring to the eggplant. Her words about this dish are more enticing than any I could come up with: "This is the kind of dish that seduces and beckons as silky eggplant collapses into well-browned and delicately spiced meat, all simmering over a rich tomato-based sauce." I was won over by Naz (meaning to buy her cookbook) after hearing her read her mom's poetry and witnessing her emotion about it. Persians and poetry, man. Talk about seduce and beckon!

For this recipe, I also got to use all garden produce except the onion. My garlic is now officially cured, and I selected some nice big bulbs for this recipe. This year, I grew a few different varieties of eggplant, and harvested several of these thinner long ones in the last week or so, which are ideal for this recipe. I also have a handful of palm sized ones, and I was a little short, so I used one of those too. 

Incidentally, while doing my garden plot rotation of refilling the water barrels last week, I saw that someone is growing okra. I have never seen okra grow before, and I found it so stunning I had to go back and look at it again. Next year: Okra!

Split eggplant, oiled and ready to roast

Serves 4-6

• 6 Italian or baby eggplants (about 2 pounds)
• 1/2 C olive oil, divided
• 10 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 yellow onion, finely diced
• kosher salt
• 1 pound ground beef
• 6 T tomato paste
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp allspice
• 1/8 tsp ground cloves
• ground black pepper
• 1/2 bunch parsley, tough stems trimmed, chopped
• 1/2 c cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Peel the eggplant in stripes, with the stem and cap on. Leaving 1" on the top and bottom, cut a shallow split lengthwise in the belly of the eggplant, without piercing through, stopping about 1" from the bottom. Place the eggplant in a large bowl and drizzle a little olive oil in each slit, and sprinkle generously with salt. Rub olive oil all over the rest of the eggplant, and season with a good pinch of salt and pepper. Place the eggplant on a baking sheet and bake for 35 minutes, until fork-tender. Set aside to cool.

While the eggplant roasts, prepare the filling. Bring a kettle of water to a boil and keep it at a simmer. In a large pan, heat 1/4 cup olive oil over med-low heat. Add the garlic and cook very gently, constantly stirring until slightly softened, but taking care it doesn't take on any color, about 5 minutes. Transfer the garlic to a small bowl and set aside. Using the garlicky oil in the pan, turn the heat up to medium and add the onions. Cook until softened, about 8 minutes. Sprinkle with a little salt, turn up to med high, add the meat, and brown for 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook with the meat for 2 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and add the spices plus 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. Give a stir and add 1/2 c water from the kettle. Reduce the heat to med-low and cook until the meat is cooked through and all the flavors come to life, about 5 minutes.Taste and make delicious. Remove from heat and stir in the garlic and parsley.

Eggplant boats

With a fork, gently push the eggplant flesh to either side, making room for the filling, and sprinkle with a little more salt. Fill each eggplant with about 2 T of the filling, depending on the eggplant size. You will have filling left over in the pan. Place the pan back on the stove over med heat, add the cherry tomatoes and 1/2 cup more water from the kettle. Give a stir, and bring to a good simmer. Taste and add more salt or spices as needed. Gently nestle the eggplant boats in the sauce, spoon a little sauce over the eggplant, cover, and reduce heat to low. Cook until the tomatoes collapse and release their juices, and the eggplant is completely tender and everything is luscious, 35-45 minutes. Garnish with parlsey and serve.

Post simmering, eggplants all nestled in with the sauce.

Cucumber Tomato Raita

I can't keep up with the garden cucumbers, but I am trying. And in keeping with the recent post theme of late - I made this kheera ka raita. It would be great with any of my previous posts (for liver curry or Indian spiced Kohlrabi), and is also just damn good on its own. This is the best raita I have ever had, and I don't really know why. It was SO good! 

The recipe is from Saveur, and I didn't change it other than I only had ground cumin (so didn't heat seeds or grind them, saving some steps and still turning out tasty), and I used a jalapeno because that is what i had. I have been out of onions for some days, so am digging up the remaining green onion bulbs in the garden to inch me along til I get to the store! I also used my mom's homemade yogurt, which might be one of the reasons this was so good. Her yogurt is not super thick - a good regular whole milk plain yogurt. Not the super creamy greek yogurt - which ordinarily is my preference. My mom and I ate this with leftover chicken, rice, and some beet greens with peas that I sauteed in ghee and spices that turned out weird but good. *I thought the raita was just a tad salty, which is rare for me because I am usually a salt fiend. Next time I might try a little less than 2 teaspoons.

Raita with rice and leftover chicken and my veggie concoction!

Raita - yields 2 cups

• 1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped small
• ¹⁄₂ small yellow onion, finely chopped
• 2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• 1 ¹⁄₂ cups plain, full fat yogurt
• ¹⁄₂ cup minced mint
• 2 small green Indian chiles, or 1 serrano, stemmed and minced
• 1 large plum tomato, chopped small 

Toss cucumber, onion, and salt in a colander set over bowl; let drain 5–10 minutes, then squeeze dry. Heat an 8" skillet over medium-high; cook cumin until seeds pop, 1–2 minutes; grind in a spice grinder into a powder. Whisk yogurt and reserved cumin in a bowl until smooth. Stir in reserved cucumber mixture, the mint, chiles, and tomato. Chill up to 4 days. 

Eggplant and Tomato Kookoo

I was out of town the past week, and prior to my drive north I made this dish to bring on the road. It turned out delicious - both fresh and hot from the oven, and eaten the next day. It would be a great dish for brunch, and I especially enjoyed it with some plain yogurt on top. Kookoo are Iranian style frittatas - and as Naz Deravian says, are more about the filling than the eggs. Typically one ingredient will be the star, though in this case it is two: the eggplant and the tomatoes. This is another Bottom of the Pot recipe, and I used all garden produce and herbs. I didn't have capers (I am going to try making some with milkweed pods, if they aren't too big yet), so I used some diced up pickled green tomatoes instead.

Serves 4-8

• 2 large long eggplants (about 1 1/4 pounds) 
• 1/4 c plus 1 T olive oil
• salt
• 6 large eggs
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed to a paste
• Leaves from 1 stem tarragon, minced (plus more leaves for garnish)
• 1 T capers, rinsed and roughly chopped
• Black pepper
• 2 T unsalted butter
• 4 med tomatoes (about 1 lb 6 oz), sliced into 1/4" rounds
• Fresh herbs to garnish: mint, basil, cilantro, tarragon
• Yogurt for serving

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl toss eggplant with 1.4 c olive oil and 3/4 tsp salt. Divide eggplant slices on two baking sheets and lay out in a single layer. Roast for 20 minutes, flipping once halfway through. Remove from oven and set aside. Lower oven heat to 400 degrees.

While the eggplant roasts, add the eggs, garlic, tarragon, capers, 2 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp pepper to the same bowl you used for the eggplant. Beat well to combine and set aside.

Heat a 10 or 12" cast iron skillet over medium high heat and add the butter and remaining Tablespoon of olive oil. As soon as the butter sizzles place one layer of tomatoes in the pan. It's okay if they overlap slightly. Sprinkle the tomatoes lightly with salt and layer with eggplant slices. Repeat with another layer of tomatoes (sprinkled with salt) and one more layer of eggplant. Pour the egg batter over the whole thing and place in the oven to bake for 20 minutes, until the kookoo has set and the edges are slightly browned.

Set aside to cool slightly. Garnish with whatever fresh herbs you have on hand, and slice into wedges or squares. Serve with a dollop of yogurt.

Bonus vacation picture: Moose! All week I ate thimbleberries like this moose ate river grass - steady, ongoing, and with pauses to breathe. :)

Paleo Tabbouleh

This photo is with hemp seeds - but pepitas are just as good!

I was never a big tabbouleh fan - I'm not sure why really, except that it just seemed to be too much parsley and too grain-y. (Traditionally the salad is largely bulgher.) But this recipe is not that way it all - this version is all fresh veggies with just a bit of grain crunch - though in this case the "grain" is some chopped up pepitas.

The recipe I modeled this version from is actually a nutiva recipe - I order my coconut oil from them because it is super cheap to get in a 1 gallon bucket. Their original recipe uses hemp seeds (no pepitas), but hempseeds are expensive. I did try the recipe with hempseeds initially (see photo) only to realize that I could really use any number of chopped nuts/seeds. And it turns out I LOVE tabbouleh! At least this version. You could certainly add more pepitas - but I like them as a small part of the overall salad.

Garlic chive blossoms

I also used some garlic chive blossoms instead of onion. These are all over the garden at the Northside homestead - and they are not actually related to the garlic plant (good for my garlic allergy) - and are more like chives. The blossoms taste like mild green onion, but with fun texture. I've been putting them in just about any fresh salad thing because they are so plentiful and pretty. Also they grow like crazy - I am going to bring some down to my house so they can be there for late in the season fresh onion-ness.

Paleo Tabbouleh
Huge bunch parsley (I used flat leaf cuz that's whats in my garden)
1/2 c chopped pepitas (or hemp seeds)
2 c cucumber, diced
1 c tomato, diced (use a nice sweet variety)
1/4 c red onion or garlic chive blossoms, diced
1/4 c fresh lemon juice
6 T olive oil
1 tsp sea salt

1. Mix parsley, pepitas, cucumbers, tomatoes and onion/chives in a bowl.
2. In a small bowl mix lemon juice, salt, and olive oil. Pour over tabbouleh. Serve!

Fennel Meatball Zucchini Pasta

Travel lunch: zoodles, sauce, and meatballs!

The zucchini is taking over! I've been rotating zucchini, green beans, and cucumbers among the three meals of the day all week - they are prolifically abundant in my garden. Mostly I've been eating the very basic sauteed zucchini (with onions, or bacon, or plain), but I am also eating a fair amount of "zoodles." This recipe also utilizes some garden tomatoes (those are slower in my garden, so I used up some of last year's frozen ones) in the sauce. The fennel in the meatballs was nice with the fresh basil. I actually ate these meatballs with both pesto sauce, and this simple tomato-basil one. Both were delicious.

Fennel meatballs
1 lb beef or venison
1/2 small onion, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp fennel seeds
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
freshly ground pepper
1 egg
1 T coconut flour

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Mix ingredients together and form into 1" balls. Place on a rimmed cookie sheet or cake pan in a single layer and bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown.
3. Serve over zucchini noodles with pesto or tomato basil sauce.

Tomato-Basil Sauce
1/2 small onion, diced
1 T fat (lard, ghee, coconut oil)
2 cups chopped tomatoes
2 T tomato paste
1/2 tsp salt, more to taste
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
big handful fresh basil, chopped

1.  Heat fat in a heavy saucepan. Saute onions until translucent, then add tomatoes. Simmer for 5-10 minutes to cook down.
2. Add remaining sauce ingredients, and adjust seasonings to taste. Continue to simmer another 5-10 minutes until desired thickness. 

Baked Veggies in Eggplant Sauce

The garden harvest continues.  I picked a few handfuls of bush beans even, and I thought those had pretty much stopped so haven't even been watering them. The continued warm weather may be extending the season a bit - even my winter squash sent out some new little squashes. I didn't take a picture, but they are so cute! I've been storing various things when I have time - here are some of my efforts:

Roasted tomatoes packed in olive oil

Pesto, pickles, and roasted tomatoes!

Last week I tried one more recipe from Nigel Slater's Tender - a cookbook that I give two thumbs up based on the handful of recipes I've tried, and because of the really useful information about more casual cooking with various veggies. For example, I had never thought to pair mint with eggplant - it didn't seem to go. But he recommends mint as eggplant's best herb pairing, and it is delicious. I've thrown it on roasted eggplant, or with a roasted veggie blend of eggplant, zucchini and tomatoes.

Not surprisingly, this recipe also makes use of mint. The recipe originally calls for yogurt, but I swapped in coconut milk with a good amount of lemon juice and it was great. I am very confident I did not make this dish as he would have - I cooked the veggies long (and cut them smaller) and they were very soft, and my sauce to "drizzle" over the top was stirred in and the whole thing became more of a stew-like affair. Regardless of my liberties, it was a really incredible flavor - not like any other I've had before, and very creamy tasting and so nice with all the fresh garden vegetables.

Baked Veggies with Eggplant Sauce from Tender
serves 4

Garden Veggies (cut smaller than recipe calls)

Sauce:
2 large eggplants
olive oil
scant 1/2 cup coconut milk 
3 T lemon juice
handful chopped mint leaves
salt and pepper

Veggies:
4 large tomatoes (or several smaller ones)
3 zucchini, quartered length wise
2 bell peppers, cored and thickly sliced
onion, peeled and cut in wedges
olive oil
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp hot sauce
handful pine nuts
handful raisins

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Cut eggplant in half lengthwise and score the flesh with several deep etches (helps the oil penetrate). Sprinkle with salt and set aside for 30 minutes.
2. Wipe off salt, place in baking dish, and pour a few glugs of olive oil over the top and bake until soft (cut side down). You should be able to crush the flesh with a fork. Mine baked about 45 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, put tomatoes, peppers, onions and zucchini in roasting pan. Toss with oil and salt and roast 45 min-1 hour. (Shoot for getting the veggies in about 15-20 minutes after the eggplant started to time things best.)
4. When eggplant is soft and cooled just enough to handle, scrape eggplant flesh from skin and mash with coconut milk-lemon and enough olive oil to make a paste that is thin enough to drizzle. *I had a hard time with this - my eggplant had cooled a lot, so maybe that is why. I just didn't want to add more olive oil than I had already, so mine was a bit thicker. Season with salt, pepper, and mint. If you are using coconut milk and it tastes weird, you need more lemon and more salt. It should not taste at all coconut-y.
5. Toward the end of cooking for the veggies, gently stir in cumin, hot sauce (I used sriracha), pine nuts, and raisins. Finish roasting.
6. Serve veggies drizzled with eggplant sauce (or in my case, just mix it all up in a bowl!! so good)

My version was not the most picturesque - but don't let that stop you! I used golden raisins, and there are so few, but they sneak a nice bit of sweet in there.

Sauteed Kale with Roasted Tomatoes

The garden kale is getting really big and, as I mentioned in the last post, keeps needing thinning. My favorite kale dish of late is a somewhat sweet, with a little bit of apple cider and some roasted tomatoes, both of which have been in my freezer all winter. It's time to rotate the stock!! This kale tastes delicious, and is sort of made al dente so that the onions are barely translucent and the greens are still super bright. I've been using smaller kale leaves, so if you have giant ones, you may want to cook them a wee bit longer.

This is a half batch in the skillet! Yum!

Sauteed Kale with Roasted Tomatoes
Large bunch kale, chopped in pieces
1/4 c. apple cider
onion, sliced thin
1/4 c. roasted tomatoes
2-3 T coconut oil

Melt coconut oil in a large skillet. Add onions and saute for 3 minutes. Add the kale and than the cider. Stir often to rotate the greens so that they all cook and become bright green, about 5 minutes. Add roasted tomatoes and continue to saute another few minutes, again stirring occasionally so that tomatoes soften a bit and greens are just tender. Serve!

Green Bean and Tomato Khoresh

I've been reading (and photo gazing) The Taste of Persia - a cookbook that is subtitled as an introduction to Persian cooking. I pulled it out originally to look at the kebab recipes, but got sidetracked by some of the khoresh dishes. Khoresh is basically a stew - though more delicate than a beef and potato kind of thing - with lots of butter or ghee, and often spiced with cinnamon or fruit, saffron and lime. The one I tried first is this green bean and tomato recipe, largely due to recently finding a bag of garden green beans from two years ago in my freezer. I also had a bunch of garden tomatoes that I stuck in the freezer last summer, so I used those in lieu of tomato puree. The flavor turned out really nice - sort of citrus-y and warm, and sweet from the tomatoes.

The recipe is for one pound of meat, but if you are not going to eat this with rice, I would add in extra to bulk it out a bit more. I used venison, and let the meat stew a bit longer to tenderize the meat and bring out more flavor. (If you use chicken, go for just the 30 minute simmer so the chicken does not overcook and get tough.) Because I was simmering it longer, I also kept the green beans out until the last 20 minutes - just so they wouldn't get too soft. I wished I had made a double batch for more leftovers because it made a great meal to bring to work.

Green Bean and Tomato Khoresh
5 T butter or ghee
1 lb fresh/frozen green beans, cut into 2" pieces
2 small onions, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 lb skinless, boneless chicken leg or meat (beef, venison, lamb) cut into thin strips
1 t salt
1 t freshly ground black pepper
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t turmeric
1 T tomato paste
3 1/2 c fresh/canned pureed tomatoes
2 T fresh lime juice
1/2 t ground saffron threads, dissolved in 2 T hot water (opt)

1. In large skillet heat 2 T butter/ghee over medium heat. Add the green beans and stir fry 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
2. In medium pot, heat 3 T butter/ghee over medium heat. Add the onion and stir fry 5 minutes until translucent. Add teh garlic and chicken/meat and stir fry 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the salt, pepper, cinnamon, and turmeric and stir fry another minute.
3. Add green beans, tomatoes/puree and paste, lime juice, and saffron water to the pot. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes or until beans are tender, stirring occasionally.
4. Taste the khoresh and adjust seasonings for salt and lime juice. Cover and keep warm until ready to serve.

Roasted tomatoes

I recently read An Everlasting Meal, and oh I could just read this book endlessly. I learned about it from my cousin Jenny, who does food writing/photos in DC - often about Slavic food, like this one for Georgian Eggplant Rolls with Walnut-Garlic Filling.  She also has a lovely blog called Eat with Pleasure that I find captivating.

The book is not really a cookbook, except that it also is. Author and chef Tamar Adler really is just writing about all the glorious ways to enjoy food - and while reading it, one's confidence is bolstered to do so while cooking without recipes, with joy and ease. The chapters are titled things like: How to Boil Water, How to Teach an Egg to Fly, and How to be Tender. Throughout it all she talks about how to make the most out of every ingredient (save parsley stems, salvage herbs, etc), while also doing things like baking a surplus of root veggies on Sunday to then make all kinds of delicious things with them throughout the week. It's really beautifully written and I found it so fun and creative. For example, in How to Season a Salad:

Because a salad can be made of anything, make one of an ingredient about which you get excited, or of whatever looks most lively, or of whatever you have around already...Cold, roasted beets, sliced or cubed, drizzled with vinegar, and mixed with toasted nuts and olive oil are a wonderful salad. So is roasted broccoli, tossed with vinegared onions and a light smattering of dried chile. So are green beans, boiled until just cooked, cold and sliced thinly, tossed with peanuts and crisp scallions and rice wine vinegar and sesame oil. So is boiled cauliflower or potatoes already salted, drizzled with vinegar and oil, with a big handful of chopped olives and capers mixed in. Anything, cooked or raw, cut up a little, mixed firmly with acid, salt, and a little fat, laid carefully on a plate, or spooned nicely in a bowl, is a "salad." 

This recipe/post is not really anything from her book, but it is inspired by her writing. I have had a surplus of cherry tomatoes this season - which really, I love cherry tomatoes and can eat them on pretty much anything. Lately my favorite is a salad of cucumber, blanched green beans, cherry tomatoes and tuna salad. But still, there are only so many a person can physically consume each day. So some go in the freezer (do you know you can just freeze tomatoes? it means when you go to cook them later they will have the peel on, but I hardly notice that for the ease that is just popping them in a freezer bag), and some get cut in half and roasted.

These roasted tomatoes can then just live in a jar covered in olive oil in the fridge for many weeks, or put in the freezer too. These are absolutely delicious with buttery eggs in the morning - they cause me to swoon they are so good. They would also be great on pizza, in salad, pasta, with sauteed veggies, etc. And after the tomatoes are gone, the left over olive oil is herb and tomato infused, which makes it tasty for putting on any other veggies or salad.

Oven roasted cherry tomatoes
Cherry tomatoes (as many as you have) - cut in half
olive oil
herbs: basil and thyme are good
salt and pepper

Arrange your tomatoes halves on a cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with herbs and salt and pepper. Bake at 250 degrees for 2-3 hours, depending on the done-ness you like and the size of your tomatoes. *You can do this with slices of larger tomatoes too.  I like mine to still be soft, but dehydrated and without much liquid left. Remove them from the oven when they look right to you, and let cool. Put in a jar and cover with olive oil (will last several weeks this way), or freeze the whole tray and then put the tomatoes in a freezer bag.

For the eggs: make scrambled eggs with extra butter - melt the butter in the pan first, and pour in your eggs (with a little cream added in). Cook them until they are just barely done, and then serve them with the tomatoes from the jar, gently laid on top. It is divine!

Coban Salad

I recently checked out a really lovely cookbook from the library: Bought, Borrowed, Stolen. The British author has re-created recipes from 20 different countries, with stunning photos and really aesthetically nice layout. The recipes I found myself most drawn to were ones from Turkey, Burma, and Morocco. I copied a few of them out, so they will find their way to the blogosphere once I get to making them. The one I've made a couple of times already is Turkish: Coban Salad. It uses veggies and herbs that are all plentiful right now, plus some olives and a light lemon juice and olive oil dressing. I substituted some things because of what I had in the garden or fridge (cherry tomatoes, italian parsely, banana peppers, etc) and it all tasted amazing.

Coban Salad
1 lb. 2 oz. good quality, ripe tomatoes, quartered, seeded, diced small
1 lg. green pepper, diced small
1 red onion, diced small
big handful flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
medium handful mint, finely chopped
2 1/2 oz. stoned olives, roughly chopped
juice of 1 lemon
3 oz. extra virgin olive oil
salt/pepper
(feta cheeze is optional to add here too, I left it out)

Mix all of the veggies, herbs and olives in a large bowl. Squeeze lemon juice over everything and drizzle the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Charred Eggplant, Zucchini, and Tomatoes

Lately I am really loving eggplant?! I am not sure when this transformation happened, but I think it was sometime right after the Roasted eggplant and tomato curry last spring. Now I just cook it up any old time - no reservations or worry that it will have a weird texture. And they are so beautiful right now! Long thin purple orbs, fat squat lavender ones, large bulbous plum ones...

My favorite veggie combo of late is Zucchini, Eggplant, and Tomato. I keep envisioning some kind of layered terrine of these three, with basil and olive oil drizzled over the top. But that has not yet happened - I think I am reluctant to do some major oven roasting until it is just a little bit cooler. Instead I am making a "charred" medly of the three, cut small, with some onion. This is so simple and it tastes amazing - the sweet tomato with the creamy eggplant and the savory zucchini.

Served with lamb burger and tahini sauce = woah. really good.

Charred eggplant, zucchini, and tomatoes
1 eggplant - the long narrower kind
1 zucchini - similar in size to your eggplant
1/2 onion (optional) - cut in short, fat strips
tomatoes - any kind will do, chopped large
olive oil

The whole trick to making these veggies taste so good is to really sear them. This means two things: a hot cast iron pan, and well cut veggies with multiple edges to char.

1) You want to cut your veggies so that they have multiple edges on which to sear. Cut your eggplant and zucchini into quarter-spears the long way. Work with one quarter at a time and cut with your knife at an angle, turning the spear a quarter turn each time you cut. This will miraculously result in pieces that have several flat edges. (Feel free to cut it other ways too, just get a few large flat sides)
2) Start heating your largest cast iron skillet - make sure it is dry and there is no oil in the pan. While it is heating, toss your zucchini, onion and eggplant pieces into a bowl. Pour a long glug of olive oil over the top, and sprinkle generously with salt. Stir.

Freshly cut veggies starting to sear - it's a wee bit crowded.

3) Once pan is hot, dump all the veggies in and arrange so that they are in one layer on medium-high heat. Let them sit! Don't touch them for 3-4 minutes!
 4) Cut cherry tomatoes in half, or chop up any other kind. Put these in a bowl and pour on olive oil and a good bit of salt, and give a stir. Spread them in a single layer on a pan, and put under the broiler. They will get done right about the time of the other veggies.
5) After the zucchini and eggplant have sat still, flip the pieces over - making sure to give them all some chances to char on each side. Repeat as needed - making sure you let them sit and sear on the pan. Less turning is better!
6) Remove everything once the zucchini and eggplant are blackened, and the tomatoes are browning. Pile up on a plate and serve. These are excellent as is, or chop up some basil to go on top, or toss in pesto. I made a really nice dressing/dip for mine: tahini, lemon juice, salt and water. Mint might be nice too.

Zucchini Pasta

Vegetables are abundant right now and it is so fun to walk through the market and pick up all kinds of colorful veggies.  Once I get them home I have to come up with a multitude of ways of using them before they go bad.  Enter zucchini pasta.  Summer squash are my favorite food right now and with the help of a julienne slicer you can turn zucchini, or any summer squash, into pasta noodles.  I haven't eaten actual pasta in a long time, so I don't even notice the difference.  The sauce mixes with the noodles and it is just a plate of veggie deliciousness.

Zucchini Noodles: I always peel the zucchini, but I don't think this is totally necessary.  I think it makes the noodles softer and closer to a pasta type consistency.  Then use the julienne slicer to create beautiful long noodles.  Sautee them in a pan with a little butter/oil for about 2 minutes to soften them just a bit.

Sauce:  The options here are endless.  I like to use ground pork, but ground beef would be good as well.  Brown the meat in a sauté pan with a little oil.  You can add some garlic and onions if you want.  Next comes the veggies.  Since fresh tomatoes are so abundant right now I use fresh garden tomatoes, but canned tomatoes would work, too.  I also like to add red peppers and green onions for some extra flavor and veggie goodness.  Chop and toss the veggies in with the meat and let is cook together for about five minutes.  Toward the end of the cooking process add some sweet basil.  This is the do not miss ingredient.  It is such a wonderfully fresh and fragrant addition to the pasta. Right now fresh basil is cheap and all over the place.   I keep buying it and then need ways to use it up throughout the week.  This pasta pile up is a great solution.  It is so sad to throw past it's prime basil into the compost heap.

Have fun with all those beautiful summer vegetables.

Roasted eggplant and tomato curry

There is this dish they put in the hot bar at the Seward that I really like: roasted eggplant, tomatoes, cauliflower, and peppers in a not so-saucy sauce. Feeling inspired, I bought these main ingredients, only to come home and realize I was sorta clueless about the spices. So I did some online research, coming up with not too much, and settled on re-working a Baigan Bharta (Indian dish of roasted eggplant curry) recipe. And the dish turned out great - though not really much like the one at the Seward. Oh Well. AND, I really want to try the straight up Baigan Bharta too. Have you had ROASTED eggplant?! It becomes this creamy substance that is really delicious.

My recipe is below, with these side notes: the amount of tomatoes made it distinctly saucy - you could use a small can of tomatoes if you want that to be different; garlic would be tasty in there if you can eat it; and, I did this food prep in two parts - I made the eggplant (and cauliflower) one night, and finished the dish the next. You don't need to do that, but it makes dinner on night two take only 20 minutes.

1 large eggplant
1 small head cauliflower
1 green pepper, diced large
2 T ghee
1 tsp black mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp chili powder
1 medium onion - minced fine
1 in ginger root - minced fine
1 medium green chili - minced
1 large can chopped tomatoes
1 c. coconut milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Wash eggplant and dry it. Make incision with a sharp knife all over the whole eggplant. Rub some oil over it . Place on a baking sheet and in a preheated oven. Bake for 40 minutes. While the eggplant is roasting, chop the cauliflower into pieces and toss it with coconut oil or olive oil. Put it on a flat baking dish and roast it in the oven with the eggplant - it will be done after 20 minutes. (Photo is cooled eggplant before I scooped out all the insides.)

Allow the eggplant to cool. Once it has cooled cut it in the middle, scoop out the soft flesh and place it in a bowl. Mash finely with a fork or chop. Discard skin.

Heat ghee over medium heat. Add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Once the spices start to pop, add the onion, ginger, garlic (if using) and green chili. When they are soft, add in the rest of the spices and saute for another minute or two. Add tomatoes, eggplant, chopped/roasted cauliflower, green pepper and coconut milk. Stir occasionally and let simmer until all ingredients are hot and softened to your liking. Because I roasted the cauliflower and like crunchy peppers, this only needed to sit for 10 minutes for me.

Creamy Tomato Soup

This recipe is the creamiest, sweetest tomato soup I have ever had. It is also super easy. The sweet taste might be due in part to my primary use of cherry tomatoes, which have been ripening on the counter for the past month. Do you have any left? I can't believe how late I am still eating fresh tomatoes. As winter sets in, I am guessing canned tomatoes will work just as well, though the seeds might be bigger.

*Based on the recipe from Fanny Farmer. The original uses 4 cups milk instead of stock and cream, 1/2 a bay leaf and a cup less tomatoes.

5 T butter
1/2 c. chopped onion
4 T. flour (GF works fine)
2 c. stock (homemade?!)
1 c. heavy cream
1 1/2 t. salt
1/2 t baking soda
4 c. tomatoes - blended

Melt butter in pot and add onions - cook until soft (not browned).
Sprinkle flour over butter mix, stir and cook 1-2 minutes.
Add stock and salt and continue to cook and stir until slightly thickened.
Add blended tomatoes and baking soda. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Blend it all one more time to make smooth.
Add the cream to the whole batch, or pour it in each bowl for some pretty plating.

ketchup

A few weekends ago, my kitchen turned into a tomato-processing MACHINE. With an absurd amount of tomatoes, plenty of beer, pie and ice cream, we managed to crank out more than 30 pints of salsa. Even so, I woke up the next morning to a beautiful box of paste tomatoes waiting patiently for their turn. Now, I'm a big fan of salsa and all, but the thought of making any more was pretty unbearable. Enter: the king of condiments, ketchup.
When I was a kid, I wouldn't think twice about sucking that nasty red paste right out of the bottle. Perhaps I overdid it in my youth, though, because my (slightly) more refined adult palette has never been a fan of the grocery store variety. Lucky me, this stuff is NOT grocery store ketchup. It's spicy and tangy and has a much more pleasant (and believable) consistency. No corn syrup here! Some of you might even be tempted to bring a jar with you to your favorite bar (aghhhmeganaghm).

From: http://www.canningacrossamerica.com/recipes/regular-ol-tomato-ketchup-but-better/

1 cinnamon stick
1 bay leaf
5 whole cloves
5 cardamom pods, crushed
1 star anise
10 black peppercorns
1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes
1 large yellow onion, quartered
2 tablespoons neutral vegetable oil, like canola or sunflower
2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more to taste
1/3 cup firmly packed golden brown sugar
1/2 cup champagne vinegar
1 teaspoon Hungarian paprika
Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions: Using a piece of cheesecloth (or an empty tea bag), tie the cinnamon, bay, cloves, cardamom, anise, and peppercorns into a bundle. Set aside.

Pour the tomatoes and their juice into a food processor or blender. Puree until totally smooth, and set aside all but about 1/4 cup. To the remainder, add the onion and puree.

In a large nonreactive Dutch oven (bigger than you think, as this will splatter like a Pollock painting), heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion puree and the 2 teaspoons of salt and stir well. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, letting the puree reduce and lightly brown. Add the tomato, sugar, and vinegar, turn the heat to a low simmer, and reduce for about 15 minutes, uncovered, with an occasional stir. Add the spice bundle and reduce for 10 minutes more. When it’s done reducing, it should be a little thinner than commercial ketchup. Stir in the paprika, taste for seasoning, and adjust as needed.

Let the ketchup cool and remove the spice bundle. Pour into a jar and chill overnight, or for at least 6 hours.

How to Store It Refrigerated: homemade ketchup will keep at least 2 months.

How to Can It: Ladle into sterilized half-pint jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace, and process in a hot-water bath for 15 minutes at altitudes up to 1,000 feet, 20 minutes at altitudes up to 6,000 feet, and 25 minutes at altitudes over 6,000 feet

Caprese Salad

Ah the end of summer! Soon there will be overnight frosts and the tomatoes will all have to come inside. I love this simple salad - it is so easy and delicious. I tried something new this time, and reduced the balsamic. Just take more than you want to use (not quite twice as much) and set it on low heat on the stove for 5-10 minutes. (Keep a close eye though so you don't burn it - a heavy pot will be nice for this.) It is done when it is a thick, pourable product somewhere between maple syrup and molasses. The reduced version is richer, sweeter, and looks nicer poured over the tomatoes and mozzarella.

Slice tomatoes and mozzarella and layer on a plate
Insert basil leaves wherever they fit (in an aesthetic fashion)
Drizzle olive oil over the top
Drizzle reduced balsamic
Sprinkle salt and pepper
Enjoy!!

*I had a little left over balsamic and ate it over some fresh peaches. Yum! It would be good on strawberries too.

Warm summer salad

This salad recipe (like Andrea's recent post!) features some of the best summer veggies: zucchini, tomatoes, green beans, cucumbers, and corn. This salad was inspired by a similar dish my friend Kate made for me many years ago. I was impressed by how simple and flavorful it was - the fresh veggies just showcase themselves! The amount of each ingredient is not as important as the way it is prepared - I gave an estimate, but consider it very flexible.


Summer Salad, serves 4-6
One ball fresh mozzarella (optional, mild feta might also be nice)
1-2 c. cooked wild rice
2 med. zucchini
2 med. cucumbers (or 4 pickling ones, in my case)
2 ears of corn
1+ c. tomatoes, diced
2 big handfuls of green beans
fresh herb (basil or rosemary)

First dice the mozzarella, tomatoes and cucumbers and put in a large bowl with the wild rice. Add any chopped herbs.

Prep the rest of the veggies: shuck corn; trim the green beans and cut into 1-2" pieces; quarter zucchini the long way (making 4 spears), cut each spear at an angle - turning the spear 1/4 turn at each cut (this will give each piece multiple flat edges that will sear in the pan).


Using whatever steam method you use, put water on to boil for corn and green beans. When it is boiling, put corn in the steamer basket for 4 minutes, and remove. Put green beans in the basket and steam for 5 minutes, then remove. Cut corn off of cob and mix both corn and beans into the salad.


While water is heating in steamer, heat a dry cast iron pan on med-high for zucchini. In a small bowl, drizzle zucchini with olive oil and salt; toss well to coat. Once cast iron is hot, put zucchini on pan to sear in a single layer (let it sit a minute, it won't sear if you move the pieces around too fast), then toss or flip pieces to sear other edges. Add zucchini to salad and toss all ingredients well. Pour dressing over the top, and serve immediately to get a nice blend of cool and warm ingredients.

dressing:
1 part honey
1 part olive oil
1 part balsamic
stone ground mustard
salt

Potato, Green Bean and Tomato Salad

This potato salad is the best of summer. Red potatoes from the CSA, beans and basil from the farmer's market, and sun gold cherry tomatoes from the garden.

2 lbs small red potatoes, quartered
1/4 lb green beans, halved
1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

Vinaigrette:
Blend 2 T. champagne vinegar, 4 T. olive oil, 1/4 cup (or more) chopped basil, 1 clove minced garlic, 1/2 t. salt

Steam potatoes until just tender, adding beans to blanch for the last minute or two of steaming. Put potatoes, beans and tomatoes in a bowl and toss with the vinaigrette.