Celiac – Grow. Cook. Eat.

January 10, 2011

From A to V (Appreciation and Venison)

I pulled all the sheets and towels out of the washing machine and tossed them in the dryer. I threw in a dryer sheet and hit the start button. The tumbler made its motion until I took my finger off the button. And then it stopped. Maybe I didn’t hold it long enough… I hit the start button again. And again. I unplugged the machine, reset the circuit breaker. To no avail, the dryer was definitely not drying.

I hung the sheets and towels from the every possible hook and hanger to prevent that dreaded sour smell that comes from leaving wet laundry for too long. Cursing that I had let the laundry pile up, I contemplated my options.

The week was not off to a good start.

Given that the machine had already broken twice in the nine years since I purchased it, I decided it was probably time to purchase a new machine.

Did you know that in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts only a certified plumber can disconnect and reconnect a gas dryer?

Great! On top of the expense of a new dryer and the delivery cost, I need to pay the plumber to come to my house. Twice.

Thank goodness, I adore my plumber. We’ve spent many lazy summer days fishing together at Spot Pond or chatting on my back deck comparing gardening notes. He pulled into my driveway, with his license plates that read “BowHunt” and reached into the back of his truck. I assumed he was getting tools… But instead he grabbed several packages of butcher paper – wrapping venison that he had hunted and killed last weekend.

The week was looking brighter!

He disconnected the gas and then a few days later returned to reconnect the new machine. And to top off his generosity, he didn’t even charge me.

Two of the packages contained the rump. I probably could have roasted the meat, but given its provenance I knew the meat would be extremely lean with a potential to be very tough. As I learned long ago, free range, wild meats are much tougher than the commercially raised counterparts. I opted for a stew, a sure-fire way to tenderize the toughest cuts. The third package contains sirloin which I will save for another day, and cook rare.

If you’re looking for a new plumber, let me know. Mine comes highly recommended.

Venison Stew with Chocolate Scented Agro-Dolce
1 pound venison stew meat
1 cup red wine
½ tsp. juniper berries, crushed
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 onion, peeled and chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 cup chicken broth
¼ cup sugar
2 garlic cloves
½ cup balsamic vinegar
1 -2 tbs. grated bittersweet chocolate
Salt and pepper to taste.

1.    Season the venison with salt and pepper. Put it in a bowl with the wine, juniper, carrots, onion and celery. Let marinate for at least an hour or as long as over night.
2.    Put the venison and marinade in an oven proof, non reactive dish (anything but aluminum). Cover the meat with the chicken broth, and then tin foil.
3.    Put the meat in the oven at 325F for 2 hours, or until meat is tender.
4.    When meat is tender, finish the sauce…. Put sugar, garlic and ¼ cup of water in a small stainless steel saucepot. Put over high heat. Stir just until the sugar dissolves and continue cooking. Get the balsamic vinegar ready and measured. When the sugar is caramelized, golden brown add the balsamic. It will sizzle furiously, but don’t worry.
5.    Add a few spoonfuls of the braising liquid to the balsamic pan and continue cooking for 2 minutes or until the sugar redissolves.
6.    Stir the balsamic mix and chocolate into the stew.   Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

December 17, 2010

Farmer Friendships (Recipe: Swordfish, Parsnip Puree with Vanilla Saffron Sauce)

If you are friends with a farmer, you know the only way to spend time with them is to visit them on their farm, and follow them around the fields as they tend to their crops and livestock. I learned this long ago when I became friends with Brett. While cultivating a friendship, I also learned how to save seed; “process” chicken, turkeys and pigs; sort tomatoes; and plant and harvest all sorts of vegetables.

Perhaps similar to working in a kitchen, there’s always something to be done – vegetables need harvesting, fields need weeding or irrigating, plants need staking, and of course produce needs to be sold. In the winter, the chores perhaps are not as time-sensitive, but the list is still long.

It was no surprise when I visited the O’Dwyers in November at their farm (Langwater Farm) that I would have minimal time to talk with them before the chores began to call. They just finished their first season of cropping on 5 acres in North Easton, and by all counts they had a highly successful season. As they plan for the next season, they are busy building two new greenhouses, clearing fields and developing strategies to finance new, labor-saving equipment.

The farm-stand is still open and well stocked with lots of leafy greens, cruciferous veggies and roots. I picked up some romenesco cauliflower, just because it looked so cool, and a bag of parsnips.

Perhaps not the best way to showcase the parsnips, but an exceptional dish… is a variation on Thomas Keller’s Recipe… The combination of parsnip, vanilla and saffron will knock your socks off. Really.

Seared Swordfish with Parsnip Puree, Vanilla Saffron Sauce and Wilted Spinach

4 swordfish filets – approximately 6 oz. each
1 lb. parsnips
1 cup cream
1 lb. spinach
1 orange zested
½ vanilla bean
¼ tsp. saffron
¼ cup wine
½ cup chicken stock
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1 shallot, diced
1 tbs. butter
plain oil
salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste

1. Make parsnip puree: Peel parsnips, and cut into chunks. Put in a pot of cold, salted water. Bring to a boil, cook until tender. Drain parsnips (reserving about 1 cup of liquid), and puree with ½ cup heavy cream, and cooking liquid as necessary. Season to taste with salt, pepper and lemon juice.

2. Prepare the spinach: Heat a large skillet. Add 1 tsp. of oil. Sauté garlic with orange zest for one minute. Add spinach, and cook until wilted, about w minutes. Remove from heat and set aside

3. Make the sauce: Heat butter in a sauce pan. Add shallots, and cook for 2 minutes, or until soft. Add saffron and vanilla. Deglaze with white wine. Reduce until 1 tbs. of liquid remains. Add cream and chicken stock. Season to taste with salt, pepper and lemon juice.

4. Cook the swordfish: Heat a large skillet. Season char with salt, pepper and a generous squeeze of lemon juice. Add oil to the pan, and cook the fish until golden brown. Turn over and cook through, 2 – 3 minutes depending on the thickness of the filet.

5. Serve swordfish with parsnip puree, spinach and sauce.

December 15, 2010

Spanish Highlights (Recipe: Chick Pea Spaetzle with Kale and Jamon)

One of the first questions friends asked when I returned from Spain was “What was the best thing you ate?”

I’m not good with that question, though I was able to narrow down 30 meals (and countless dishes) into a top three list.

Easily, the first meal made the list… I arrived in Fuengirola, a non-descript resort town on the Mediterranean Sea at 1pm after 14 hours of travel. Bleary-eyed and jet-lagged, I knew I the best thing would be to stay awake until at least 10 pm. But all I could manage was a walk along the beach (and I also discovered that napping on the beach is much better than napping in a dark hotel room). Along the beach promenade, I stumbled into a little café displaying impeccably fresh fish. I ordered fried whitebait with lemon. Whitebait is not a specific fish, but a generic term for small, slivery fish that could be fresh (uncured) herring, smelts or anchovies. They are served whole as their size makes the entire fish – from head to tail - edible. These fish were crispy without being greasy, and had a bright taste of lemon that tamed the richness of the fish. With the bright sun, refreshing sea breezes and a crisp glass of white Rioja, I was in heaven.

The second on the list came from a Michelin one-star restaurant in the hill-top town of Ronda. Tragabuches serves multi-course tasting menus in a simply elegant dining room just off the main square. Slowly coddled egg yolk with egg-white foam and cock’s comb were topped with a whiff of truffle. The cock’s comb had the texture of meaty mushrooms – tender, earthy yet firm.

By the time I arrived in Barcelona, a week into my travels, my body craved vegetables. As much as I tried to get my “5-a-day” through the course of my travels, it was not as easy as I would have liked. I picked up fruit at one of the farmers’ markets and headed to dinner. I ordered a dish of chick peas and spinach. It had just enough jamon, olive oil and garlic to give it the Spanish flavor, but packed with enough spinach that I actually felt like I did something good for my body. And I loved every bite. So much so that I went back two days later and ordered it again.

When I returned to Cambridge, I decided to make a variation on that dish. I made spaetzle with chick pea flour and tossed it with chick peas, kale (still growing abundantly in my garden) and bits of jamon bellota.

Chick Pea Spaetzle with Kale and Jamon
2 cups chick pea flour
½ – 1 cup of milk
2 eggs
3 tbs. olive oil
Pinch cayenne
3 cloves garlic
1 cup cooked chick peas
1 bunch kale, coarsely chopped
3 slices jamon or prosciutto, coarsely chopped

Salt pepper and lemon juice to taste.

1.    Make the spaetzle batter: Sift together the flour, salt and cayenne. Whisk in the eggs, 1tbs. olive oil and milk. If the batter is too stiff, add more milk. You want the consistency of pancake batter.
2.    Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Season generously with salt.
3.    Meanwhile, heat the remaining olive oil in a large skillet. Add the garlic. When it becomes fragrant, add the ham. Cook for 1 minute before adding the kale and chick peas. Cook until the kale is bright green and wilted. Season with lemon, salt and pepper. Set aside.
4.    When water is boiling, push spaetzle dough through a spaetzle maker or a large whole colander. (You may need to cook them in batches, depending on the size of your pot). Wait until they float to the top and cook for 3 minute more. Scoop out with a slotted spoon and add them with the chick-pea/kale mixture.
5.    Reheat just before serving.

January 8, 2010

Cooking for Great Friends (Recipe: Beef en Rollo)

I went into Chez Henri looking for a part-time job, something to supplement my income while I started my own business. I walked out with the position of sous-chef (and a temporary distraction from my entrepreneurial dreams). This was back in 1996, and Chez Henri had just opened to national praise for its inventive French-Cuban cuisine. I knew nothing of Cuban cuisine — not even the now très-trendy Cuban sandwiches or mint mojitos.

I had to get smart fast! My first week on the job was writing the new spring menu with the chef de cuisine. I borrowed cookbooks from friends and scoured them for interesting recipes and general themes about the style of cooking.

I had fun playing with ideas – black rice with white beans, duck pate with pickled pineapple and plantain crusted halibut with mango coulis.

One dish that never made it to the menu, but became a staple on my Interactive Cuisine menus, was the Biste en Rollo. The idea came from Elisabeth Lambert Ortiz, but I quickly modified it to be my own. Typically, I prepare it with flank steak but the other night, I spiffed it up using beef tenderloin instead.

A few years ago, I contributed this recipe to a cookbook called “Great Chefs Cooking for Great Friends.” The book was published by Friends of Dana-Farber and all proceeds go to support cancer research. You can buy the book by clicking here. And if you live in the Boston-area, you can support the “Friends” by attending their annual fundraiser, “Chefs Cooking for Hope.”

Grilled Flank Steak and Red Pepper Roulade with Cilantro Mojo and Mashed Sweet Potatoes

2 lb. flank steak or beef tenderloin butterflied
1 red pepper, quartered, seeds removed
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 stalks thyme
1/2 tsp. cayenne or chili flakes
1 tsp. fresh oregano
2 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
5 cloves garlic
1 lime, juiced
2 sweet potatoes
2 slices ginger
¼ cup cream
1/2 stick butter
salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste

1. In a large sauce pot, add red peppers, thyme, 3 garlic cloves smashed and cayenne. Cover with olive oil. Simmer over medium heat for 15 minutes, or until peppers are tender. Let cool.

2. Season steak with salt, pepper, oregano and lime juice. Rub meat with garlic. Lay out steak, and place red peppers and carrots on top. Dot with butter. Roll steak with the grain, and tie with kitchen string.

3. Peel and quarter sweet potatoes. Put in a pot of salted water with ginger and bring water to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and continue cooking until potatoes are tender. Drain water and puree potatoes with cream. Season with salt, pepper and lemon juice.
4. Heat oil in a pan. Brown meat on all sides, and finish cooking in the oven for 10 minutes for medium rare. Let meat rest for 10 minutes before slicing. Remove strings, and slice meat as thin as possible. Garnish with watercress, sweet potatoes and cilantro Mojo.

Cilantro Mojo

½ cup olive oil
¼ cup chopped garlic
½ cup chopped onion
2 tsp. cumin
1 tbs. fresh oregano
2 tsp. pepper
1 tbs. salt
1/2 cup white vinegar
1 ½ cup cilantro, leaves and stems

1. Heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic, onions, cumin and oregano. Cook for 3 minutes, or until garlic becomes aromatic.
2. Strain olive oil and reserve. Puree garlic onion mixture with remaining ingredients. Slowly whisk in olive oil. Adjust seasoning to taste

December 30, 2009

Laziness – Thwarted (Recipe: Chicken Tikka Masala)

With all the holiday mayhem, I craved a simple dinner. The convenience food aisle at the supermarket beckoned my lazy alter-ego, and my taste buds responded with a cry out for Chicken Tikka Masala. Unfortunately, the market no longer carried my favorite brand of Indian simmer sauces, the prepared sauces that only require the addition of meat to create a complete “freshly prepared” meal.

I was left to my own devices… and a semi-well-stocked pantry.

I started with a recipe from Alosha’s Kitchen…and chicken from the freezer, canned tomatoes from the summer and left-over cream from lord-knows-what. But as I scanned the ingredient list, I realized modifications would be necessary.

I didn’t have yogurt to marinate the chicken, but I did have a scootch of left-over sour cream from this year’s latke-fest. I didn’t have garam malsala – an Indian spice blend – but did have most of the ingredients. And the recipe called for grilling the chicken first before simmering it – and I had no interest in adding the extra step of precooking the chicken, much less digging out the grill from under its blanket of snow. Instead, I added some smoked onions to the sauce to give it that extra depth.

This was a bit more labour intensive than I planned, but still only 20 minutes from start to finish. All-in-all a delicious dish!

From the garden: canned tomatoes and jalapenos

Here’s the original recipe with my modifications.
Chicken Tikka Masala
adapted from What's for Dinner via Alosha's Kitchen

Marinade

1 cup plain yogurt (I used 2 tbs. sour cream)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons cinnamon
~~1 teaspoon red pepper flakes~~
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into strips or large cubes

Sauce

1 tablespoon butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 smoked onion
1 tsp. fresh ginger
1 jalapeno chile, minced (I used a smoked jalapeno leftover from the summer garden)
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon garam masala (or 1/4 tsp. ground ginger + 1/4 tsp. ground cardamom + 1/8 tsp. clove + 1/4 tsp. cinnamon +1/8 tsp. cumin)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 1/2 cups half-and-half (or 1/2 cup heavy cream + 1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup chopped cilantro

In a small mixing bowl, combine everything on the marinade list, including the chicken. Marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours (overnight is better.)

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic, onion, ginger and jalapeño, and stir for a minute. Add the chicken and lightly brown. Stir in the seasonings, and salt. Add the tomato sauce, and stir for one minute. Add the half-and-half, and simmer, covered, until the sauce thickens and chicken is cooked through.

Serve with basmati rice or naan bread. Garnish with chopped cilantro.

Happy New Year! Wishing you a sparkling and joyous year.

December 11, 2009

The Legend of the Macomber Turnip (Recipe: Macomber Turnip Soup with Lobster)

Macomber Turnips are prized for their creamy texture and subtlety balanced sweet-tart flavor. Intuitively, I know they appear on restaurant menus all over New England in the fall. Just for kicks, I Googled, “Macomber Turnip Soup Menu” to see approximately how many restaurants in Boston feature them. Eight out of the ten results on the first page led to a different local restaurant’s menu.

(photo credit: Wendy Maeda, The Boston Globe)

They look like the purple top turnips in shape, size and color gradations. But instead of white with purple shoulders, they are flesh toned with more muted purple shoulders.

According to Cukie Macomber, as written in the New Bedford Standard Times, "It (ed:the macomber turnip)began when two brothers, Adin and Elihu, sixth-generation farmers from the Westport portion of old Dartmouth, began experimenting with seeds. They returned from a fair in Philadelphia in 1876 with seeds for experimentation, planting radishes next to rutabagas (17th century crossbreed of a cabbage and a turnip) to allow cross pollination. The Westport Macomber Turnip was born. Their new turnip inherited the white flesh of the radish parent and turnip grandparent, but an unusual sweetness and horseradish aroma, raw and cooked."

Every year, I see them at Russo’s and think I will buy a few and experiment. Nothing happened until this year. And how glad I am to have discovered them.

As a simple side dish, I roasted them with apples, ginger and garlic.

This dish transformed easily into a soup. With the addition of a little wine and chicken stock I pureed them. I added a little cream to give the soup a little richness. I started to add lemon juice as its part of my usual seasoning routine. But when I tasted the soup it was wonderfully bright without any more seasoning.

This soup can be easily dolled up with a little lobster and/or truffles on top.

Roasted Turnip Base
1 tbs. butter
1 macomber turnip
1 tsp. minced fresh ginger
1 tsp. minced fresh garlic
1 gala apple

1. Preheat the oven to 375.
2. Peel turnip and cut into ¾ inch cubes.
3. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add ginger and garlic, and cook for 2 minutes, just to soften.
4. Toss the butter with the turnips. Season with salt and pepper. Spread them in a single layer on a cookie sheet and put them in the oven.
5. Roast t the turnips for 20 minutes.
6. While they’re roasting, core the apple and cut it into a ½ inch dice. Do not peel it.
7. After 20 minutes, add the apple to the turnips. Toss them together to make sure the apples get a little butter coating. Roast for 5 minutes more.
8. Serve as a side dish to braised short ribs or salmon.

Macomber Turnip Soup with Lobster
Turnip Base
1 quart chicken stock/broth
¼ cup heavy cream
1 small leek, white and light green parts, cut and washed.

½ pound lobster meat
1 tsp. fresh tarragon
1 scallion, cut into rings
1 tbs. butter
Lemon

1. In a large soup pot, combine turnip base, chicken stock and leek. Simmer for 20 minutes. Puree in a blender (in two parts if necessary) until smooth. Add cream. Return to pot, and set aside in a warm place.
2. In a medium skillet, melt the butter. Add the lobster and warm it through. Just before serving add tarragon, scallions and a squeeze of lemon.
3. Ladle soup into bowls. Top with lobsters and extra scallion rounds.

August 17, 2009

The Best of Times, The Worst of Times

Early in the summer I began noticing worms in the soil. I knew the soil started out in excellent condition, 3 summers ago, when I imported 5 tons of compost, but worried that I hadn’t sufficiently amended the soil in the subsequent seasons. The worms told me that I was doing okay.

Over the years, I have tried and given up on growing heirloom tomatoes. I’m lucky if I harvest one tomato at the end of September. Despite my track-record, I plant at least one heirloom every year. This year, I planted three. And so far, I’ve had 10 tomatoes! It must be the worms.

The threat of blight still looms. I regularly trim back any yellow spotted leaves that show signs of disease. The foliage is thinning, but the tomatoes stalks are heavy with fruit.

And I’m tense. Because, in fact, they are too heavy. The plants are drooping, bending the stalks despite all my efforts to stake them.

I wonder if the tomatoes will get the required nutrients and energy from the plant with a weakened structure.

The tomatoes still ripen on the vine (i.e. they don’t rot), so I continue to enjoy them: lots of tomato/mayo sandwiches and a few tomato sauces.

Mediterranean Eggplant and Tomatoes
With the glut of eggplant and tomatoes, I made a Mediterranean style dish. With basil, it takes an Italian bent and pairs beautifully with grilled steak and potatoes. With dill, the Turkish inspiration takes over making it perfect with mackerel and basmati rice. The dill is in short supply and I’m reserving it for pickles. I decided to lean Italian.

¼ cup plain oil
5 Japanese eggplants, sliced in half lengthwise
2 tablespoons currants or raisins
2 tablespoons pine nuts or pistachios
1 tablespoon butter
¼ cup white wine
1 shallot, peeled and diced
1 large garlic clove, peeled and diced
2 cups diced tomatoes – whatever you have in your garden
2 tablespoons fresh basil or 1 tablespoon fresh dill
Salt and pepper to taste

1. In a large skillet heat oil over high heat. Add eggplant to pan, cut side down, and cook until a deep brown. Flip over and cook on the other side until the eggplant is soft, about 1 more minute. It’s important to cook the eggplant in a single layer, so you may need to cook them in batches. Drain on a paper towel and season with salt.

2. When eggplants are cooked, pour off the oil from the pan. Return the pan to a medium heat. Add the pine nuts and raisins and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly, or just until the pine nuts start to brown. Remove from heat and drain.

3. Wipe the pan clean, return to medium high heat, and add the butter. When the butter melts and shallots and garlic. Cook for 5 minutes, or until soft. Add the wine and reduce. Add the tomatoes. Cook until the tomatoes have released their liquid and start to thicken. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

4. Just before serving, stir in the fresh herbs.

When serving, sprinkle toasted pine nuts and currants on top.

August 11, 2009

Summer Trilogy

One of the best parts of summer (right behind the Crane's Beach and fried clams on the Essex River) is all the fresh produce available at farmers' markets and from my garden. I could subsist on tomatoes, corn and fresh herbs.

The garden tomatoes are still producing (and as I back-up, the farmers' at the weekly markets still have field tomatoes). My romas are a bit mealy — is it the variety or all the rain we've had this summer? Whatever the reason, they are better for cooking anyway. And the cooking changes the texture so that mealiness disappears. I slow roast them in the style of Fred Flintstone tomato sauce.

Grilled corn is wonderful, but I also like it sauteed in butter with a touch of cream and a pinch of curry powder.

And to make the trilogy pop with color, I saute zucchini with fresh mint.

In the summertime, my cooking simplifies. While baked salmon doesn't have the crispy brown skin that's only achieved from sauteing, it's so much easier. I cover the fillets with fresh basil and tarragon, and layer lemon slices on top. The flavor is wonderful, the fish is moist and delicate and the presentation's okay too.

Roasted Salmon with Creamed Corn, Roasted Tomatoes and Zucchini

6 – 8 oz. filets of salmon, skin on
3 ears of corn, kernels cut off
1 tbs. butter
5 shallots, diced
5 cloves garlic, diced
1 clove garlic, sliced
1/2 cup cream
1/2 tsp. curry powder
4 roma tomatoes, cut in half
2 tbs. olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh basil, chiffonade
1 tsp. fresh thyme
1 zucchini, cut in half lengthwise, and then cut into 1/2 inch slices
1 tablespoon fresh mint
2 lemons: 1 juiced, 1 sliced thinly
1 fistful of fresh basil and tarragon
plain oil
salt and pepper to taste

1. Toss tomatoes with 1 tbs. olive oil, thyme, 1 tbs. chopped shallots and 1 tsp. garlic. Roast in 450F oven, until tomatoes begin to brown. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Toss with fresh basil.

4. Melt butter in a skillet. Add corn, 1 tbs. chopped shallots and 1 tsp. garlic. Cook until garlic and corn begin to brown. Add curry powder and cook for 1 minute more. Add cream, and cook for 5 minutes, or until cream is reduced by 1/2. Season to taste with salt, pepper and lemon juice.

5. In a skillet, heat remaining oil on high heat. Add zucchini and garlic slices. Cook until the zucchini turns bright green and the garlic browns. Season to taste with mint, lemon juice, salt and pepper.

6. Season salmon with salt and pepper. Cover the fillets with fresh herbs and layer lemon slices on top. Roast in 375 oven for 10 minutes, or until cooked to desired doneness. Garnish with corn, tomatoes and zucchini.

August 1, 2009

Beet Tales (Recipe: Beets with Cumin and Mint)

Many moons ago, my sister lived in Morocco to learn Arabic and teach music in a school for the blind. Traveling to a foreign country with a native is perhaps the best way to see a country and avoid the tourist traps and scams. Traveling with my sister at the end of her year was a close second. She spoke (and read) the language fluently, which allowed us to navigate the country and menus quite easily.

When we’d go out to eat, I’d let her order. I recall one café… We placed the typical order, “jusz jasz”: two chickens. The waiter quoted us a price: 80 dirham. What?? My sister pointed to the Arabic menu and with a flawless accent and perfect grammar, she questioned, “But the menu says it’s only 20.”

Another favorite was the vegetable salad. Beets, potatoes and carrots were sautéed in fruity olive oil, seasoned with cumin, coriander and black pepper.

This year, I grew beets for the first time. As the British name, "beetroot," would suggest, they grow underground so it's not obvious when they're ready to harvest. One farmer advised to inspect the shoulders of the root which protrudes from the soil. When they are several inches in diameter, the beets are ready. Also, the leaves should be broad and long. I began harvesting the beets last week, and every time I dug one up, it seemed too small. Alas, once you harvest, you can’t put them back.

With my baby beets, I sautéed them with olive oil, cumin and coriander, and tossed them with mint: the perfume took me back to the summer with my sister, wandering the country together.

Moroccan Style Beet Salad with Mint
5 baby beets or 2 medium beets
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon coriander
Salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste
8 large mint leaves, cut into chiffonade

1. Put beets in a pot of cold water. Bring to a boil over high flame. Cover pot and let simmer for 20 minutes, or until beets are tender – a butter knife will insert easily.
2. Remove beets from heat and let cool. The skins should peel off easily.
3. Cut beets into 8th.
4. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium flame. Add cumin, coriander, salt and pepper. Cook until spices become aromatic. Add the beets, and warm through, tossing to coat in scented oil.
5. Remove from heat and serve. Sprinkle mint on top, and a squeeze of lemon.

July 27, 2009

Suspiciously Delicious

Yep, that's Dina picking up a plastic bag of green stuff from a prearranged drop-off. Not suspicious at all, nope.

Hopefully, my neighbors don’t call the cops on her. This is Cambridge, MA, after all. And we know what could happen. Despite all the controversial media, I left a bag of mint on the front porch for Dina. I think I’m safe, though, since my neighbors also partake of my bounty of herbs: I regularly find 4-year old Oliver in the mint patch having a little snack.

Lord knows, I can’t possibly consume all the herbs on my own. I enjoy what I can throughout the summer, and freeze more for the winter. But even still the garden produces more than I can enjoy. I joke that I’ll start a farm-stand at the end of my driveway and peddle my excess herbs (and vegetables).

On Saturday evening, Dina returned for dinner with Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream. Seems like a fair trade, don’t you think?

This recipe comes courtesy of www.epicurious.com. It sounds like the same as the one Dina used.

Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
2 cups packed fresh mint leaves
2 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
3 ounces fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened)

In a blender blend cream, milk, and mint until mint is finely chopped. In a saucepan bring cream mixture just to a boil and cool 15 minutes. Whisk in eggs and sugar and cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened and a thermometer registers 170°F. (Do not let custard boil or it will curdle.) Pour custard through a fine sieve into a bowl. Chill custard, its surface covered with plastic wrap, until cold, at least 3 hours, and up to 1 day. Chop chocolate. Freeze custard in an ice-cream maker. Transfer ice cream to an airtight container and stir in chocolate. Put ice cream in freezer to harden.