Random Produce

Or, cleaning out the camera.

Black radish:

Figs (from my tree):

Oranges (also from my tree):

Farmers market haul:

Brussels sprouts:

Pomegranates (from a friend's tree):

Tomatoes:

Baby Artichoke Risotto

Baby artichokes are so cute, how could you resist them? I hadn't made a risotto in at least a year, so it was time to remedy that. I used this recipe from the NY Times with no alterations.

Pretty, huh?

Unfortunately, I didn't trim the chokes well enough, and ended up with some tough leaves. Oh, and this recipe makes a LOT of risotto, so you'll probably have leftovers. If so, make arancini. Fried cheesy rice? Yes, please.

Asparagus, Fingerling Potato, and Goat Cheese Pizza

I had some fingerling potatoes and a beautiful bunch of skinny asparagus to use up. Searching Epicurious, I found this recipe for Asparagus, Fingerling Potato, and Goat Cheese Pizza. Why not?

I followed the recipe, except for reducing the amount of goat cheese, since neither my husband nor I like large amounts of goat cheese.

Was it good? Yes. Would I make it again? Probably not. I guess I just don't like potatoes on my pizza. As a matter of fact, I roasted the leftover potatoes and asparagus in some olive oil, and we preferred that over the pizza.

French Fries with Eggs

OK, it's not just french fries with eggs. There's other stuff. And the potatoes aren't deep fried. This is one of my husband's creations, and, I've got to say, it's pretty darn good, and also a great clean-out-the-fridge meal.

Buy yourself a bag of frozen french fries. Heat up a little oil in a skillet, and dump in as many fries as you want. Cook, stirring and tossing, until the fries are as crispy as you want. Beat up a couple eggs, and add them to the skillet. Cook and stir until the eggs are set.

That's the basic "recipe". We've added cheese to the eggs. We've also added roasted chile pepper strips, and bell peppers and onions (saute with the fries). Garlic can't hurt, and mushrooms would work as well. Various toppings we've used include tomatoes, green olives, avocado, and sprouts. If you're not vegetarian, add some bacon or other pork product. Serve with toast, English muffins, or by itself. And don't forget the hot sauce.

Goat Cheese Stuffed Squash Blossoms

It's zucchini season, which means it's also squash blossom season. Since we're currently vegetarian, I couldn't make my parents' recipe of beef-stuffed blossoms, so I went with cheese instead.

I mixed some finely chopped green onions and basil into some goat cheese, then stuffed each flower with about half a teaspoon of the mix. Next up, I whipped up a quick batter of sparkling water and flour, about the consistency of thick pancake batter. (You could use beer or plain water, too.) Twist the top of each flower, give it a quick dip in the batter, and fry in about 1/4" of oil until golden.

Since I had some beautiful heirloom tomatoes from the farmers market, I made a quick sauce to top the flowers. But they're also delicious on their own.

Steak and Vegetable Kabobs

Summer and grilling. They're like Joanie and Chachi. Or not. But you know what I mean.

I was lucky enough to find some Hatch chiles at the new Whole Foods nearby, and decided on chile hummus. It's absolutely delicious, very spicy, but completely non-photogenic, at least not by me. So pop on over to Taste of Beirut, where you can get the recipe.

I asked my husband what he wanted with the hummus and pita (which was actually Trader Joe's naan, but whatever). He said steak. I said veggies. He said steak. So, I compromised.

I marinated the beef (NY strip, cut into chunks) in a mix of olive oil, red wine vinegar, oregano, garlic, salt, pepper and a bay leaf. The meat went onto skewers along with bell peppers, onions and mushrooms, then got thrown on the grill until the veggies were charred. During grilling, I drizzled some olive oil, salt & pepper on the kabobs. (Be careful, olive oil is really smoky. Cough.)

Amazingly, some of the beef was still pink in the middle (yay!). Next time I'd used a slightly fattier cut of meat, and also bigger chunks, so that the veggies can be completely charred without overcooking the beef.

Pierogi with Squash Blossoms

I picked up a couple bunches of zucchini flowers from the farmers market the other day. I could've stuffed them with ground beef, breaded and fried (like my parents do). I could've made a quesadilla. Or tossed them to pasta. But instead, I decided to add them to pierogi.

First, start caramelizing an onion. Low and slow, this takes about an hour. While that's happening, cook up some bacon and crumble it. Cut the squash flowers in half lengthwise and crosswise, removing the reproductive part of the flower. Briefly sauté (more of a wilt, really) the flowers in a little butter. Boil your pierogi, then pan fry them until crispy. Top the pierogi with onions, squash blossoms, bacon, and sour cream.

Heaven in a bowl. Pierogi by themselves are good. With onions, bacon and sour cream, even better. Adding squash blossoms cuts through all the carb and dairy richness, lending a brightness to the dish, "almost like peas", the Husband says. I'm not sure if they taste like peas, but they definitely have that green taste that is a welcome addition. So the next time you have pierogi, add some squash flowers. That way you can say you ate your vegetables.

Artichokes!

I bought 2 massive artichokes, and the next day, I was gifted with 4 more. Ack! Artichoke overload!

Of course, I steamed the first one. It was so good that I didn't even bother with butter or mayo for dipping. For the second, I packed some garlic cloves into the choke, and roasted it.

Roasting an artichoke gives it a whole different flavor. Very good.

For the 3rd, I roasted it, then diced the heart and mixed it with ricotta, garlic and parmesan. Not my favorite, but I think that was because my ricotta wasn't top quality (kinda grainy).

The remaining three? I steamed them, trimmed, wrapped the hearts in foil, and chucked 'em in the freezer. A girl can only handle so many artichokes in 3 days time.

Pan-Fried Salmon with Garlic and Capers

Or, more accurately, my husband's pan-fried salmon with garlic and capers. He makes this dish, I never have.

Season the salmon with garlic powder, paprika, a little rosemary, salt and pepper. Fry in about a half inch of canola/vegetable oil until done. Let it get crispy at the edges - yes, it's technically over-cooked, but the crispy bits are really the best part.

Remove the fish to drain on paper. Saute minced garlic and capers in a mix of butter and olive oil until they start getting a little crispy. People always say "don't burn the garlic", and this isn't exactly burnt, but it's crispy. And good. Pour the garlic/caper/fat mixture over the fish.

Served with zucchini, potatoes, garlic cloves, shallots and pearl onions roasted with olive oil, salt and pepper, this was an awesome, if garlic-heavy, meal.

Thai Papaya Salad

Do you ever crave something you've never had before? No? Just me?

A while back, I was craving som tam (ส้มตำ), Thai green papaya salad, even though I had never had it before. Just looking at the list of ingredients, I knew I wanted it, knew I would love it. Shredded unripe papaya, tomatoes, green beans, dried shrimp, peanuts, hot chiles, lime juice, sugar, fish sauce. I finally had it for the first time at Sab E Lee, and, seriously, I could do shots of the dressing, it's that good. Then recently I decided I needed to make it myself.

So I consulted with Leela from She Simmers, using her recipe, and asking her a couple questions along the way. I have a mortar and pestle, but it's the Mexican kind with the rough granite. My instinct told me I needed a smooth-sided mortar to make som tam, so I used a large cutting board and a metal bowl, and alternated between the granite pestle and my meat tenderizer. Don't laugh. It worked.

Aside from an altercation with the vegetable peeler, in which I removed a fair-sized chunk from my thumb, everything came together nicely. Lots of pounding, crushing, mixing, more pounding. It's a fair amount of work for a salad, but any time I get to pound on things, it's worth it.

Will I make it again? Hell, yes. But I think I'll ask my husband to peel the papaya.

Pappa al Pomodoro

I had half of a baguette leftover that wasn't worth eating. Until I remembered that you could put dead bread in soup, as a way to thicken and a mark of frugality. Behold, pappa al pomodoro. I'm not sure exactly what 'pappa' translates as, but I think it's something like mush, hence: tomato mush. Not very appetizing, is it? I'll stick with pappa al pomodoro.

I used this recipe from Dana Treat, chicken stock instead of vegetable stock, and a little less basil because I didn't have enough.

Whatever you do, don't skip the garnish of baked basil and croutons. It's amazing. You could sprinkle some parmesan cheese on top if you wish, or even add some crispy pancetta. I didn't. And it was still good.

Pretty amazing for dead bread, huh?

Fried Cardoons

What the heck is a cardoon, you ask? It's a big celery-looking vegetable related to the artichoke, that tastes a little of both. Oh, just go to Wikipedia.

How do you cook them? They're very fibrous, so they need to be boiled first. After boiling, you could cook them in a gratin topped with breadcrumbs. Or you could bread and fry them like I did.

Fried Cardoons
1. Trim any brown spots, and peel any accessible strings from the cardoons.
2. Cut into 2-3" pieces.
3. Boil for 20-30 minutes or until soft. Drain and pat dry.
4. Dip each piece in beaten egg, then in seasoned bread crumbs, pressing on the crumbs so they stick.
5. Fry in canola or vegetable oil until browned.

I served them with Caesar dressing. Marinara sauce would be equally delicious. Sriracha mayonnaise would probably be good, too.

Bacon Fried Rice

Who could ever get sick of fried rice? Not me. It's so versatile - you can make it a clean-out-the-fridge meal, or add specific ingredients (like shrimp and pineapple). This, my friends, is of the clean out the fridge persuasion.

I though about using Spam, given some online conversations I've been having, but I saw the package of thick cut bacon in the freezer, and decided to go with that. Here's my mis en place: clockwise from top left, carrot, red onion, chiles de arbol, ginger, garlic, jalapeño, cilantro, bacon, and scrambled egg. Not pictured is the rice and the peas I added at the end.

Normally I use canola or peanut oil to fry the rice, but looking at the bacon fat left over in the skillet, I thought, Why not?

Husband said this was one of the best versions of fried rice, not only that I've ever made, but that he's ever had. Score.

Simple Tostadas

Tostadas are one of my favorite "healthy" meals. Sometimes I get complicated and make my own beans and tostada shells, but this time I opted for purchased shells, and beans from Compadre's (house-made, no lard).

You could also add any meat you want - pulled pork, shredded chicken, ground beef. Or skip the beans and top with ceviche. Endless possibilities. These particular tostadas were vegetarian out of laziness and lack of thawed protein.

There's no recipe, just spread some beans on the tostada shell, and top with whatever you want. This one had tomatoes, lettuce, avocado, cilantro, red onion, green olives, yellow chile, green chile sauce, Tapatio, and a squeeze of lime juice. (Yes, I have a tendency to over-chile.) No cheese, because I typically only use cheese when meat is a topping. But go ahead and use cheese if you want.

Visually appealing (look at all the colors!), always delicious. Great for when you don't feel like turning on the oven/stove. Lots of chopping, but worth it.

Things I've Cooked Lately, Part IV

"Deviled" eggs. With anchovies, roasted red peppers and capers. Oh, stop it. Most people who say they don't like anchovies have never tried them.

Sandwich with homemade pickles (cucumbers in peperoncini juice for 3 days). And yes, those are indeed Doritos.

Sardine omelette on a toasted bagel. Again, stop it, sardines aren't bad. You can get some very good imported Spanish and Italian ones.

Spinach and strawberry salad with candied pecans. I used Simply Recipes' method for the pecans, but used smoked paprika and cumin instead of sweet spices. The dressing was white balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

Hope you enjoyed the random collection. I'm sure there will be more in the future.

Simple Tomato Salsa

Everybody likes salsa, right? It's so versatile - you can put it on top of eggs, fish, chicken, tacos, whatever. Or just eat it with tortilla chips (the typical mode of consumption in this household).

Here's my basic salsa recipe. (Yes, it's a lot of chopping. Make sure you have a sharp knife, and hide the tips of your fingers. Bobby Flay has a good video showing basic knife skills.)

Salsa

3 large tomatoes
¼ - ½ red onion
1 serrano chile
1 jalapeño chile
1 yellow chile
a handful of chopped cilantro
the juice of ½ - 1 lime
salt
1-2 garlic cloves (optional)

Quarter the tomatoes and remove the stem, core and seeds. (I freaking hate tomato seeds.) Do the same for the chiles. Dice up everything. I personally like ¼" pieces for the tomatoes and onions, and smaller for the chiles and garlic. Mix together, adding lime juice and salt. Let it sit for a while so the salt can work its magic on the tomatoes, i.e. it'll pull the water out so you have a salsa, not just a bowl of diced vegetables.

Serve. With everything.

Stuffed Zucchini Flowers

Pictures and recipe courtesy of my parents. My comments are in italics.

Meat Stuffing (for about 15 flowers):
Mix 1 lb ground beef, ~1 teaspoon salt, ~2 teaspoons pepper, ~1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 beaten egg.

Remove sex organs from the flowers. I disagree, I think they add flavor. Also remove the 5 little spiky green things on the outside of the flower base, but keep the green cup where the stem attaches. Again, I disagree, leave the spiky things. If there is a little zucchini at the base, that's ok. Soak and clean in cold water for 5 minutes.

Remove flowers from water, shaking off the water. Stuff with a plug of meat stuffing. Close flower around meat. If it can't close, you're using to much stuffing.

Dredge each meat/flower package in flour,

then beaten egg (or Egg Beaters),

and then seasoned bread crumbs.

Fry in about 3/8" of canola oil (or whatever oil you like), until nicely browned on all sides, usually 5-10 minutes. They can also be deep fried.

I grew up eating these every summer. Haven't had them in about 15 years now, and I can still remember exactly how they taste. If you're lucky enough to have zucchini (or any squash) flowers, make these!

Fried Rice Vermicelli with Pickled Mustard Greens

I saw this recipe for Fried Bee Hoon over at The Malaysian Cuisine (make sure to check out Angie's other blog, seasaltwithfood), checked my pantry, and realized I could make this, stopping at the store only for bean sprouts.

I soaked my noodles for about 30 minutes, but they were still kind of chewy-strange. Perhaps they were old. Maybe I'll boil them next time. The recipe didn't state whether the choy sum was fresh or pickled, but I had a package of pickled mustard greens in the fridge, so I used that. I don't have chicken bouillon, so I used a little of the Better than Bouillon beef flavor I have in the freezer. And I replaced the shallot with onion, just because.

Aside from the chewy noodles (which did soften up more when thrown in with the veggies and sauce), this dish was perfect. I couldn't live without noodles, and throw in some crunchy veggies, and I'm even happier. You could definitely add some meat to this if you wanted. Quick, not a lot of heat involved in the preparation, good hot or slightly warm.

I'm submitting this dish to Presto Pasta Nights, this time hosted by Ruth at Once Upon a Feast. 

Shrimp Salad for Cooking to Combat Cancer 4

I made this salad a while back, took a photo, and promptly forgot about it. But then Chris from Mele Cotte reminded us that she's hosting Cooking to Combat Cancer, in it's 4th year.

I figured that this was a healthy salad, but after doing a little research, I realized I need to make this more often!

Since it's a salad, there's not much of a recipe, just slice, chop, cook the shrimp (seasoned with tons of garlic, paprika and salt), make the dressing (olive oil, balsamic vinegar, crushed garlic if you wish, salt & pepper), and toss everything together. Since there's no recipe per se, instead you'll get a breakdown of why this salad is a cancer-fighting bowl of delicious:

Lettuce - The darker the better for cancer-fighting properties, but even romaine has health benefits.
Shrimp - High in selenium, a trace mineral helpful in keeping prostate cancer away. Shrimp are good for you in other ways, too.
Tomatoes - One of the best sources of lycopene, a cancer-fighting carotene.
Fennel (bulb and fronds) - Contains anethole, a powerful antioxidant.
Radish - Contains lots of vitamin C, folic acid and anthocyanins.
Balsamic vinegar - Lots of antioxidants, including quercetin.
Olive oil - Fights colon and breast cancer.
Garlic - It's an allium, therefore it's good.

The only component of this salad that isn't cancer-fighting is the feta I crumbled on top. But with all the other healthy goodies, I feel no guilt.

So, have this salad with a glass of red wine (another cancer combatant), and you'll be doing yourself a favor.

Green Beans and Tomatoes in Olive Oil

Green beans were beautiful, local, and inexpensive at the grocery store, so I bought a bunch. I was thinking about a Sicilian green bean dish a friend of mine had made at Christmas - beans, tomatoes, garlic, cooked to death, served only slightly warm. I usually like my green beans barely cooked, but for some reason, I couldn't get enough of the soft garlicky tomatoey beans.

I found this recipe for Green Beans and Tomatoes in Olive Oil (Loobyeh bel Zeyt, لوبياء-بالزيت) from Taste of Beirut. (Awesome blog, great recipes. Go check it out.) Sicilian and Middle Eastern food have some similarities, so I decided to go with it.

The only way I deviated from the recipe was to use half the amount of red pepper flakes, and an equal amount of Aleppo pepper, since I have some that needs to be used up.

Garlic, and lots of it. Tomatoes cooked down to pulpy sauciness. Olive oil. Soft, almost melt-on-your-tongue green beans. Delicious.