Summer is officially over yet this record hot weather will be with us for at least another month. Nevertheless, it hasn’t deterred me from baking brownies or simmering short ribs for 2 1/2 hours in the oven, but it does bring to mind meals that can be prepared in a jiffy, like this simple tomato sauce.
Though the recipe refers to this as a vinaigrette, it is also referred to as a condiment and as such, is equally delicious on grilled sourdough bread, or grilled chicken, pork or fish. It adds beautiful color to all these dishes. I love serving the tomatoes on thin capellini noodles for a summery lunch or dinner.
Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallot, and cook, stirring often until softened, about 4 minutes.
Add halved and whole tomatoes to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to release juices, about 4 – 6 minutes. Crush some of the tomatoes with the back of spoon.
Add 1 tablespoon vinegar and remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil; season with kosher salt and pepper. Serve warm or at room temperature; add chives just before serving and sprinkle with feta cheese.
I love crunchy, sweet, cucumbers, especially Keiki Cukes. Their size is perfect, they are seedless, and snappy. I discovered this Jamie Oliver recipe on Leite’s Culinaria and I was smitten.
Lemon grass adds a fragrant note to the dressing. It pairs well with the ginger and rice vinegar. As the editor-in-chief of Leite’s Culinaria, Renée Schettler Rossi says, this is not the most traditional Japanese recipe despite Jamie Oliver’s title. And, as Renée says further, “I’m not holding that against it.”
I diced up a bit of cucumber and sliced carrots into pretty florets to add texture and color to the silky sliced cucumbers. A generous handful of torn mint and a little cilantro sprinkled over the cucumbers add that special brightness to the salad. For those of you who are not fond of cilantro you may leave it out, but don’t skip the mint.
3/4 – 1 pound Japanese, Keiki, or other small, seedless cucumbers
1/4 small carrot, sliced very thin (optional)
Handful of fresh mint, torn into small pieces
Handful of fresh cilantro, torn into small pieces
Dressing:
3 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon finely grated ginger
1 teaspoon finely minced lemongrass
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Preparation
Dressing:
In a small bowl, combine the vinegar, soy sauce and sugar. Mix until the sugar dissolves. Whisk in oil. Add ginger, lemongrass, and salt & pepper to taste.
Thinly slice cucumbers lengthwise, using a mandoline, handheld slicer, or potato peeler, making thin ribbons. Lay cucumber slices on paper towels and lightly pat dry. Slice a small portion of a cucumber into small cubes, about 1/4 cup (I use the leftover edges of the cucumber I sliced into ribbons, omitting any seedy flesh). Finely slice carrot if using. Lay cucumber ribbons on a plate and diced cucumbers on edges of plate along with the carrots. Sprinkle with torn mint and cilantro, and drizzle a generous amount of dressing over the salad.
***The dressing can be made a day in advance and the vegetables may be cut a few hours before serving.
Anyone familiar with this blog, knows that I love pickles. I think homemade pickles should be in every serious home cooks repertoire. You’ll be rewarded with tangy-sweet and crunchy snacks that are delightful and with far more variety than you will find in your typical supermarket.
This appealing recipe comes from Food & Wine magazine. Beautiful beets along with wedges of red onion and hard-boiled eggs are quickly “pickled” in a simple brine with whole peppercorns and fresh dill. The onion and eggs take on the bright color of the beets, making this a gorgeous salad. I adore eggs in any form and never having had one pickled, I had to try this recipe.
The pickles are ready to eat in 24 hours, after a brief soak in the brine. Serve them as a simple salad alone or with pretty greens, or scattered on a platter with chunks of feta cheese nudged between the beets and onions.
Scrub the beets and wrap in foil. Roast for 1 hour at 425°. I used my handy toaster oven. Peel and quarter the beets.
Place 4 eggs in a small pot, cover with water by 1 inch. Bring to a boil and immediately turn the heat down to medium. Set a timer and let the eggs gently simmer for 10 minutes. Drain immediately and rinse under cold water. Peel the eggs when you are ready to add them to the pickle brine.
Slice onion into small wedges (about 8).
In a saucepan, simmer the vinegar, water, garlic, sugar, peppercorns, mustard seeds if using, and salt. Stir until the sugar and salt are dissolved. Let cool to room temperature, about 15 minutes or so.
In a 1-quart glass jar (you might need a larger jar depending on the size of your beets) layer the beets, onion, hard-boiled eggs and dill springs. Cover with the pickling liquid. Refrigerate overnight.
***The longer the eggs are in the brine, the more color they will absorb from the beets. I prefer to keep part of the eggs white so I add the eggs to the brine no more than 24 hours before serving. You can make the pickles a few days in advance and add the eggs to the jar when you are ready. If you’ve eaten all the eggs and still have beets and onions, boil more and add to the brine!
Tucked away at the top of the hill in Wailea you’ll find Matteo’s Osteria, a fine choice for lunch or dinner. Each time I visit Matteo’s I order their “Superfood Salad,” hearty and filling. I enjoy it so much I decided to experiment with a lemon-honey dressing in hopes of coming up with a tasty rendition that I could make at home any time. I am happy to say this lemon-honey dressing is quite sublime. I’m a big fan of zesty dressings and the bright flavor of fresh squeezed lemon juice is delicious and refreshing.
How convenient! I found this mix of kale, red cabbage, and carrots at our local market. John is not a fan of kale to say the least. Yet he devoured the salad and confessed that it was very good indeed.
I’m in love with hemp seeds. I found them in the bulk section at Mana Foods. They are tiny little seeds that taste somewhat like sunflower seeds and are delicious sprinkled on salads. They are very nutritious as well.
The dressing has just the right tartness with a hint of honey.
Adding a few tablespoons of quinoa to each individual bowl adds a nice texture to the salad and a hit of protein as well. Many recipes use quite a bit of water and the quinoa can turn out soggy. I find that using just 2/3 cup of water works well for 1/2 cup of uncooked quinoa.
Kale Salad with Quinoa, Hemp Seeds & Lemon-Honey Dressing
Inspired by the Superfood Salad at Matteo’s Osteria
Serves 4
Dressing
1 1/2 tablespoons diced onion
5 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
3 teaspoons Dijon mustard
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons light mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Combine all ingredients in the cup of an immersion blender and process until completely incorporated. If you do not have an immersion blender a regular blender will work fine.
Salad
8 ounces kale salad mix (kale, red cabbage and carrot)
1/2 cup cherry or grape tomatoes sliced in half
12 tablespoons cooked quinoa, white or tri-color (see cooking directions below)
4 tablespoons toasted pumpkin seeds (I toast the seeds on a piece of foil in my toaster oven, 300 degrees about 5 minutes. Watch closely so they don’t burn).
4 tablespoons hemp seeds
Prepare quinoa: Place quinoa in a fine-mesh strainer and rinse thoroughly. Drain well. In a small saucepan heat 2/3 cups water with a dash of salt. Once the water comes to a boil, add quinoa, turn the heat to low and cover the pan. Cook for 15 minutes without lifting the cover. Remove from the heat and leave the pan undisturbed for 15 minutes. Fluff quinoa with a fork.
Wash kale salad mix, pat dry. Place in a large bowl and toss with enough dressing to coat the salad generously. Divide salad into 4 individual bowls.
Scatter tomatoes, quinoa, pumpkin seeds and hemp seeds over each bowl. Drizzle extra lemon-honey vinaigrette over the salad and serve right away.
My friend Tomoe always has a treat to give me when I stop by now and then to deliver tomatoes or avocados from our garden. I never leave her home without a gift of her delicious mango bread, lilikoi jelly or in this case takuan. I have never thought of making takuan since I only eat it occasionally and it’s readily available in the markets here. After taking a jar of Tomoe’s homemade takuan home and tasting it, I decided it was about time to make my own. Her little yellow pickles were so tasty, crunchy, sweet and salty with just a hint of tartness (much superior to the commercial brands) and, oh so delicious with a bowl of steaming hot rice.
Daikon are not the most attractive vegetable. In fact, with their pale color and gangly shape, they are quite homely. However once you add a bit of seasoning to daikon, they transform into some of the best pickles you can imagine. A case in point is Vietnamese pickles (Do Chua). I adore these pickles piled high in a banh mi. Takuan pickles are delicious served as a side dish with rice and grilled fish, chicken or even tofu. In fact I enjoy just a bowl of hot rice and takuan.
After mixing the daikon with sugar, let it sit for an hour or two. You’ll end up with quite a bit of liquid in the bowl.
Though these pale radishes don’t need to be tinted a bright yellow, their color is actually part of their identity and what we grew up with. Tomoe goes to Japan every year and buys powdered coloring. I have no idea what the box says but it worked.
It takes about a week for the daikon to absorb the pretty yellow color and flavor of the brine. After 2 weeks the pickles are ready to eat.
Onigiri goes hand in hand with takuan pickles!
Homemade Takuan
Adapted from Tomoe’s recipe
Makes 2 quart jars
Ingredients
3 1/2 pounds long daikon
2 cups + 1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 cup Hawaiian sea salt (kosher or other coarse salt if Hawaiian sea salt is not available)
1/4 cup + 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
yellow food coloring
Preparation
Peel daikon and cut into 2 inch length pieces about 1/3 inch thick. Place in a large bowl and toss with sugar. Let stand for 1 – 2 hours, tossing occasionally. Do not discard liquid.
Add Hawaiian salt and rice vinegar to the bowl of daikon. Toss to coat well. Add yellow food coloring being very careful not to add too much. You can always add more if the color is not what you expected. Cover bowl well, and refrigerate for 2 weeks, tossing pickles every few days. The amount of liquid from the daikon will vary. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Transfer pickles to quart jars and cover tightly. Takuan pickles will last for months stored in the refrigerator.
Everyone I know loves mac & cheese. That’s a fact! I prefer to have a selection of recipes to choose from rather than always turning to one old standby. On occasion I will make Martha’s decadent, rich, mac & cheese or broccoli mac & cheese if I’m craving nutritional veggies in the mix. This rendition of mac & cheese is tops on my list. The sweet, roasted, butternut squash along with the smoky bacon makes this dish special. For the life of me I can’t remember where I found this recipe. If you search the internet there are many recipes for mac & cheese with butternut squash. Some puree the squash and combine it into the sauce, others mix the butternut squash with the pasta. I love this version where the roasted squash is scattered on top of the mac & cheese along with panko bread crumbs that produce a crispy topping.
Cut the butternut squash into 1 inch cubes. That may seem quite large but keep in mind they will shrink once roasted.
Turn the butternut squash with a spatula once during roasting so that you’ll have nicely browned pieces.
Bacon. Crispy, smoky, delicious.
Panko flakes are a handy item to have. It keeps well in the refrigerator and can be used as a topping for mac & cheese or other casseroles and even tempura. They are a wonderful substitute for bread crumbs.
Dinner is ready.
Mac & Cheese with Butternut Squash & Bacon
Serves 8
Ingredients
8 pieces cooked, crumbled bacon
3 cups cubed butternut squash (1 inch cubes)
1/2 teaspoon finely chopped rosemary
1 pound penne or elbow macaroni
1 cup finely chopped onion
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
2 small garlic cloves, minced
4 tablespoons butter, divided
5 tablespoons flour
5 cups milk
5 cups coarsely grated extra sharp cheddar (I used Cabot Vintage White Extra Sharp Cheddar)
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup panko
Preparation
Lightly butter a 9 x 12 inch baking dish and set aside.
Cook bacon, crumble into fairly large pieces and set aside (always make an extra piece to snack on).
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Toss butternut squash with a bit of olive oil, rosemary, and kosher salt and pepper. Roast on a baking sheet for about 20 minutes, turning pieces once, until just tender and nicely browned. Set aside. Reduce oven heat to 375 degrees.
While the squash is roasting cook the pasta in boiling, salted water until al dente. I like to under cook my pasta by a minute or two since it will further cook as it bakes in the oven for 30 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Melt 2 tablespoons of butter and set aside. In a large sauté pan (I use a 12-inch straight sided pan) over medium heat, sauté onion in 1 tablespoon olive oil for about 5 minutes until softened but not browned. Add cayenne and garlic and sauté for another minute. Stir in remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Once melted, whisk in the flour and stir for a minute to combine with butter. Gradually add the milk and simmer for about 8 minutes, stirring constantly until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat, fold in the cheddar cheese. Stir in salt and a few grinds of pepper then stir in the crumbled bacon. Add cooked pasta and toss to combine ingredients. Transfer to your buttered baking dish and top with butternut squash. Sprinkle panko evenly over the top and drizzle with the 2 tablespoons melted butter. Bake uncovered for about 30 minutes until golden brown on top. Let mac & cheese rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Summer is officially over yet this record hot weather will be with us for at least another month. Nevertheless, it hasn’t deterred me from baking brownies or simmering short ribs for 2 1/2 hours in the oven, but it does bring to mind meals that can be prepared in a jiffy, like this simple tomato sauce.
Though the recipe refers to this as a vinaigrette, it is also referred to as a condiment and as such, is equally delicious on grilled sourdough bread, or grilled chicken, pork or fish. It adds beautiful color to all these dishes. I love serving the tomatoes on thin capellini noodles for a summery lunch or dinner.
