Salad Days

Went on a bit of a salad kick this week. A sweet couple came for their second cooking class and brought me some yummy  heirloom tomatoes from their garden.  Some people see tomatoes and think sauce; I think caprese salad.  Ooooooh it's one of the best things about summer!

Made this pretty little Caprese Stack... 2 types of tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and basil with a little olive oil and balsamic.  Almost too pretty to eat. Almost.

And then there's my caprese-panzanella union - the Caprazella Salad....

... the same ingredients in my caprese stack, but chopped up and tossed with cubed sourdough bread that I sauteed in a little olive oil and garlic.  It's a hard choice between the two, but I think this one wins; it's the best of both worlds.

Now, I'm a fan of warm salads.  I know I'm alone in that a lot of the time, but clearly I am the only sane persoon out there.  I love to brush romaine halves with olive oil and grill them, just a few minutes, til they get a nice little char on the cut side.  But this time I didn't feel like firing up the grill - too impatint and hungry - so I sauteed some onion slices, threw in some sourdough cubes (yes, again!  I bought a whole baguette, so what do you expect me to do with it?), a few different types of tomatoes, and then tossed the chopped romaine in the skillet.  You just want it warm enough to melt the goat cheese (or bleu cheese) that you sprinkle on top...

Man, I have to stop posting so late at night...it always makes me hungry!

Ahhhh, Squash Blossoms

A thousand years ago my sister came back from a trip to Italy and told me about stuffed squash blossoms... stuffed with cheese and then deep fried.  The whole deep-fried thing kept me away (not the cheese, of course), but those little stuffed beauties were never far from my thoughts.  It's like that bad boy you know you should stay away from, but can't stop thinking about.

Every summer, there they are at the farmers' market, staring at me, begging me to take them home.  Until this weekend, I resisted.  But I finally figured that deep frying couldn't be the only way to prepare squash blossoms.  So yesterday I went over to the  Star Route Farms booth and talked to Annabel.  She was familiar with people baking them, so she gave me a half dozen to try.

Pick large blossoms with petals in tact and cook them the same day you buy them, if possible.  I knew I couldn't get to them until today, so I laid them on a paper towel-lined plate in the fridge ovenight.  They wilt a bit, but they're still OK.

It takes a little delicate work to peel back the leaves, especially if you're working with them day two, but if I can do it, so can you.  You need to open up the blossom, so you can pull out the pistil in the center.  Then fill and bake.
I made a filling of goat cheese, lemon zest, lemon juice, dill, a little milk (to loosen up the cheese) and some brown rice.  Then I stuffed those cuties...

Don't stuff them all the way to the top; leave enough of the petals to wrap around the filling, twisting the tops when done to contain the filling.  Lay them in an oiled baking dish and turn to coat entire blossom with oil.

Bake for about 20 minutes until petals are lightly browned and beginning to crisp...you should be able to smell the light,tangy aroma of squash.  They make an easy, but beatiful and tasty appetizer... unless you eat all six, and then I called it "dinner."

Man-oh-man, why did I stay away so long???  I'm defintely going to see Annabel at Thursday's market and get some more.  Going to try making a squash blossom risotto or maybe a pasta sauce.

STUFFED SQUASH BLOSSOMS
Makes 6

2 ounces goat cheese
1 teaspoon chopped fresh dill
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
Pinch salt
1 teaspoon milk
1/4 cup brown basmati rice
6 zucchini squash blossoms

Preheat oven to 300.
In a small bowl combine cheese, dill, lemon juice, zest and salt.  Stir to combine and add milk to moisten. 
Add rice, stirring to combine. Stuff each blossom with filling.  Grease a baking dish with olive oil and turn blossoms in oil to coat all sides. Bake 20 minutes until blossoms are lightly crisp.

Keep It Simple

I've caught 5 Ingredient Fix on the Food Network a couple times recently, and it's inspired me to simplify my recipes.  For my cooking classes I like to introduce people to lots of different ingredients and techniques, so I find that my recipes are often not as simple as the things that I usually cook for myself.  But lots of ingredients don't necessarily equal better flavor.  Case in point, the delicious Smoky Chicken in Lemon Cream Sauce that I fixed today.  While I exceeded the "5 ingredients" of Claire's recipes (apparently I'm working on my own "8 Ingredient Fix" show), it's still a simple, yet flavorful dish.

I was inspired my the gynormous lemons my friend Janet gives me from her tree...

They are full of juice and have a pungent zest, so I wanted to create something yummy with this bad boy.  I had some leftover chicken from a class the other night and some half and half, so I immediately thought of a chicken in lemon cream sauce.  I cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces, seasoned them with salt & pepper and sauteed them in a little olive oil (oil, salt & pepper don't count in the 5 ingredient mix).  The color to me was a little boring, so I hit it with 1/2 teaspoon smoked sweet paprika (my newest love).  When fully cooked, remove from heat and keep warm. 
Next I added a tablespoon of butter (don't be afraid of butter; it wants to be friends, just not BEST friends), and scraped up all the delicious brown bits in the bottom of the skillet.  Next, stir in a teaspoon of flour followed by 3/4 cup of half and half.  Stir well and watch this beautiful sauce start to come together...

The paprika not only adds a little smoky flavor, but gives this a gorgeous creamy pumpkin color.  Now kick it up... add 2 teaspoons of lemon zest, 1/4 cup lemon juice, and a teaspoon fresh thyme leaves.  Return the chicken to the skillet and warm through.  Sprinkle on some sliced scallions and you are good to go!

I topped it with some sliced heirloom cherry tomatoes (any excuse to work those babies into a dish while they're in season) and served it over brown rice,. I think that the rice was a little heavy and took away from the bright, fresh flavor of the sauce; I would rather see it simply served over a bed of baby spinach.  Good thing I have leftovers.

Make a Diference

OK, so In Defense of Food turns out to be a little harder to get through than The Omnivore's Dilemma.  Maybe I need the young readers edition from here on out!  You know it's bad when you're only on page 60 when you get the reminder email from the library telling you that the book is due.  But I renewed it and I will carry on...

Although I haven't been reading much, I have been teaching a lot of cooking classes lately and love sharing info about simple changes that people can make to eat and be healthier.  During this time I've also, like many of us, been watching the car crash that has been the debt ceiling debate.  I was struck by one report about how our growing health care costs are crippling our country.  It can't be denied.  We are becoming more and more unhealthy, and I firmly believe our food - the kind and the amount that we eat- is at the root of it all.  So I've put together a few of my simple changes:

1) Eat real food...not processed, not packaged.  If it doesn't have a bar code, a list of ingredients and the dreaded "food label, it is a whole food.  Think vegetables and fruit.  Eat those up!
2) Get rid of the white stuff...white rice, "enriched" pasta, white bread, white sugar...all of that stuff. Your  nanna was right when she said, "The white the bread, the quicker your dead.."
3) Dump the soda. And don't be fooled by flavored water; make your own. Fill a pitcher with water and add lemon and cucumber slices to it...drink that instead.  Nothing unnatural about it.  Every time I hear someone complain about having a headache or feeling tired, I ask when they last had a glass of water.  The answer is usually hours ago or not at all.

We'll stop there.  It's just three simple things to try.  I've got a lot more, but let's just try those three for now.  Make a commitment to give it a go for a week, and see how you feel.  I think you'll be surprised at how easy it is and how much better you'll feel.  I have a friend who adopted these ideas and after a few months, her blood pressure was back to normal after 5 years of being in the dangerously high range.

We may not balance the budget with these 3 rules, but it's a start at being healthier.  And that is just as important to me.....

Ubuntu

After reading The Omnivore's Dilemma, and getting re-energized about eating more plant-based meals, there is no better place to go than Ubuntu in Napa.  They have the most delicious, most creative, and most visually beautiful vegetarian food that I have ever eaten.

I went for lunch with my friends Sue and Stephanie last weekend. It's the perfect place to share dishes, and to let the server choose for you.  We started with the most gorgeous soup I've ever seen - a chilled cantaloupe soup.  Turns out it tasted even better than it looked, and I was not sure that was possible.

The bowl arrived with fresh herbs, edible flowers, pickled radish and lime peanuts.  Then our server poured a liquid of  "clarified cantaloupe" over the entire dish.  Fantastic!  And who the heck thought of clarified cantaloupe??  I googled it and found just one listing that looked like waaaay too much work.  So glad the folks at Ubuntu aren't as lazy as I am.

Next we were given an assorted beet salad with preserved lime, pistachios, squash, mint, more edible flowers and the tastiest little morsels of "torn potatoes", like little pillows.

Next we had the only thing on the menu that I would have passed on; it was a chickpeas dish in a wonderful romesco sauce with a poached egg on top.  I'm not a fan of gooey eggs that leak out onto my food, but Sue and Steph like poached eggs so we didn't exclude it when we told our server to bring us whatever she suggested.  It was delicious, as I easily ate my way around the egg.

Our last savory dish was focaccia with truffled pecorino, purple haze carrots, radishes, fennel and a sweet puree off apricot.  Although the dishes are small, it manages to completely satisfy and, amazingly, there was no fighting over the last bite!

But don't forget about dessert...as you can imagine they are equally gorgeous and delicious.  We could have done fine with just one, but I couldn't decide between the meyer lemon cake or the apple tartlets, so we got both!  

 

Now we just needed to take a nice, long walk around downtown Napa.  Good food, good friends, good times... doesn't get much better than that! 

A Nice Reminder

I spent all day at the Santa Rosa farmers' market cooking three different squash recipes and then came home and taught a Thai cooking class tonight.  So I can't even bring myself to talk recipes right now.  But I will talk about eating.
I just finished reading The Omnivore's Dilemma by my favorite food detective, Michael Pollan.  I can't believe it took me this long to read it.  I read Food Rules more than a year ago and saw him speak on the book tour (I highly recommend searching his lectures out on YouTube AND reading the book, of course).  Truth be told, Food Rules can be read in about 20 minutes  - I like that in a book!  I'm not ashamed to say that's probably why I read that one before his others.

Generally when someone recommends a book to me, I ask, "Does someone get killed in it? Cuz if not, I'm not reading it." ( I'm a biiiig murder mystery fan.).  Turns out there's plenty of killing in "The Omnivore's Dilemma."   Chickens, cows, pigs... and eventually us if we keep eating the way most Americans do.

When I saw Food, Inc. a couple years back, I gave up eating any animals (I also recommend seeing that movie).  It lasted about 6 months. I wasn't good at being a vegetarian; there's a lot of combinations of food to consider to give you the right amount of protein, and additions of certain foods to boost your nutrition intake, and I was probably a little too lazy to take all that on suddenly, without a maybe  little research or thought.  But I tried.  I found myself, however, feeling really tired.  So I decided that my body needed some animal protein, and I believe people are built to need different amounts and kinds of protein, from none to a lot (Hi ,Mom).   I decided I would eat organic chicken from time to time, and salmon every once in a while, but eat predominantly plant based-whole grain meals.  And it seems to work for me.

I gave up beef and pork (oh, how I miss you, sausage!),  and I still maintain that, with the exception of a secret deal I made with prosciutto that if someone make me an appetizer with it, I'd have to eat it at the risk of appearing rude (snicker snicker).  Technically I also gave up lamb, but I never ate lamb anyway, so big whoop.

Reading Omnivore's Dilemma  was a great reminder of what I believe to be true about what I eat and how it affects my health.   Even more than that, I was reminded about the power I have to "vote with my fork," to support the local farms that I am so fortunate to live amongst, and to hopefully encourage others to think, learn and act in a way that brings us all to a healthier way of life.

If you haven't read it, please get in your car and hit the library right now (unless it's not open yet).  And if you read it more than a  couple years ago, ask yourself if you could use a little reminder, and go check it out again.  It worth the time.

Now I'm starting In Defense of Food, also by Pollan...stay tuned.  And I'll try to not get too "preachy."

Look at me....I'm a farmer!

My first two potaotoes!  I'm such a proud parent!

I am notoriously bad at keeping anything alive besides myself and my dog Maxx.  Seriously.  I had a fake ficus years ago and I came home one day to find a dropped leaf  on the carpet.  But last year I managed to successfully grow 2 tomato plants, so I was feeling a little cocky and decided to try potatoes along with tomatoes this year.  I was cleaning out my pantry and found a bunch of neglected red potatoes, covered in "eyes".  So into the ground they went and two months later, I dug up my first two beauties.

As a kid I used to eat fruit and veggies from my grandparents' backyard.  Still to this day I can't find an orange in any store that is as perfectly sweet and juicy as the oranges off my grandpere's tree.  You know that the produce you buy from local farms are just better tasting than anything you could ever buy in a store.  As it turns out they are generally more nutritious, too.  But the produce you get from right outside your back door is even better than those at the farmers' market.  I think it's the added flavor of pride!

I decided to prepare the potatoes as simply as possible.  I heated some olive oil in a cast iron skillet and added a large clove of garlic, sliced in half.  Over medium heat the garlic will infuse the oil with is wonderful flavor.  I cut the potatoes into bite-sized pieces and popped them in the hot oil.  After about 8-10 minutes the potatoes were cooked through and crispy on the outside.  A little pinch of salt and pepper, and call it a day.  I wanted to taste the potato, not muddle it with a bunch of other flavors.  And they were delicious!  The flavor was not overwhelmingly different from the ones I normally buy, but there was a noticeable richer flavor to them.  Again, maybe it was the pride.

I decided to continue with my "simple prep" concept and scramble some eggs to go with my potatoes.  In  the same cast iron skillet, I added a little pat of butter (don't be afraid of butter, just respect it) and tossed in some grape tomatoes that I halved. I love pan roasting tomatoes this time of year; they are so sweet and juicy, and after a few minutes in a hot skillet, their skin starts to burst and they soften to perfection. I whisked 2 eggs with a dash of milk, salt & pepper and poured it into the hot pan.  Turn the heat to low and add a little sprinkling of sharp cheddar and in a couple minutes your fluffy eggs are ready.  I topped the potatoes with the eggs. sprinkled some chopped chives and cut myself a crusty pieces of French bread.... this is a good way to start the day.  It's simple.  It's easy.  It healthy.  And best of all, it is super delish because it is all fresh and seasonal....