A Very Simple Salad

It's that time of summer when the tomato crop is starting and I'm getting lots of fresh corn from the farmer's market. The following is a nice twist on the usual tomato mozzarella salad.

1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 tbs champagne vinegar (or white wine vinegar)
1 garlic clove, minced
tomatoes
corn
fresh basil leaves
fresh mozzarella

Mix together the garlic, olive oil, and vinegar.
Cook the corn and strip the kernels from the cob. Layer slices of tomato and mozzarella. Sprinkle with the corn and torn basil leaves, then drizzle with the dressing.

Light and delicious.

Four Foods on Friday 82

Check out other bloggers' answers at http://funcraftsandrecipes.com/index.php/2009/four-foods-on-friday-82/.

#1. Do you cook items besides meat on the bbq grill, and, do you prefer gas or charcoal grills?

Call us odd but we don't have a bbq grill. Living in a house with just a small deck, I've seen too many neighbors create fireball.

#2. Name a food that begins with A.

Apple would be boring so how about arugula, just because it's a good word to say out loud.

#3. Name a drink that begins with A.

Appletini again would be boring so how about amaretto sours.

#4. Share a recipe for something that calls for American Cheese.

Being a lover of cheese, I refuse to acknowledge American cheese as a valid type of cheese. However, even American cheese can be improved in a grilled cheese sandwich with some basil and tomato.

Magic Singing Cake

Science fairs are a big deal at American schools. When I used to tutor Japanese kids in town, I would spend weeks helping them put together model volcanoes, presentations about mold, and who knows what else.

Apparently, the recipe below is a popular science fair type project because it is supposed to make a noise as it cooks. I believe I would have failed science class since my cake did not sing. It did however make a very moist cake with an unusual flavor.

Magic Singing Cake (or not, in my case)

1 cup butter
2 cups brown sugar
3 eggs, separated
2 squares bitter chocolate, melted
1 cup raisins
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cloves
4 cups flour
1 cup strawberry jam
1 cup chopped nuts
2 tsp baking powder in 1 cup buttermilk

Cream the butter and sugar together. Add the egg yolks and stir.
Stir in the melted chocolate, then add the raisins, cinnamon, cloves and flour.
Finally mix in the nuts and jam.
Beat the egg whites until stiff.
Add the baking powder to the buttermilk and quickly stir into the cake mix. Fold in the egg whites.
Pour the mix into a greased bundt pan and bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes.

Let me know if your cake sings.

The Greatest Grilled Cheese Ever!

I love cheese. Forget crackers - they get in the way. Just give me cheese.

And of course I love grilled cheese, and trust me this is the way to grill your cheese. The only thing I will change next time I make it, is to use thicker bread. I used regular, sliced wholegrain bread but it was really too thin and fell apart. Next time, I will use thicker, granary style bread.

Take your nice thick slices of bread and spread honey on one side. On top of one slice, on the honey side, put some sliced roma tomato (our homegrown heirloom ones are delicious), some slices of fontina, some fresh basil leaves, and some sliced buffalo mozzarella. Put the other honey slice on to make your sandwich.

Spray the outer sides of the bread with butter cooking spray. (You can spread butter on them before you make the sandwich but I found this to be much easier).

You can then cook these in a fry pan, but a George Foreman grill saves time and is easier. Grill until you have a flavorful, cheesey sandwich.

The honey adds a very surprising and pleasant sweetness to counter the cheese and basil.

Bok Choy Salad

Using another of our CSA basket goodies, this is a good side dish and adds another serving of veg to your daily intake.

Chop your bok choy. Toss with some rice vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil and a teensy bit of sugar.

Yum!

Baked Shrimp with Feta

I don't know about you but on anniversaries and Valentine's Day, I would rather stay at home and cook, as opposed to facing a crowded, expensive restaurant. Being surrounded by other people is not my idea of romantic.

So for our wedding anniversary last month, I tried a recipe from Ellie Krieger's book, The Food You Crave: Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life.

Baked Shrimp with Tomatoes and Feta

1 tbs olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans diced tomatoes
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
1 tbs fresh dill
1 1/4 lbs shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2/3 cup crumbled feta cheese

Preheat the oven to 425F.

Over a medium high heat, heat the oil in an ovenproof skillet. Add the onion and cook for about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add the tomatoes and bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat to medium low and allow the pan to simmer for about 5 minutes.

Stir in the parsley, dill, and shrimp and season. Sprinkle feta over the top, then bake in the oven for about 12 minutes.

I served this on a bed of orzo pasta, with a green salad and some crusty bread.

Verdict: DELICIOUS!

Farmer's Market Goodies

It's farmer's market time again. My own tomato plants are starting to bear fruit (sadly my heirloom jalapeno plants appear to have been eaten away to nothing by ants), and for the past few months I've been collecting my weekly selection of goodies from a local farm. This week our box contained corn, green tomatoes, cucumbers, kale, zucchini, summer squash, garlic, and green beans. I've also received some vegetables that I'm not as familiar with - kohlrabi and fennel.

Fortunately, with each week's collection, we get a newsletter telling us about the harvest and sharing some recipes, so I'm never at a loss for what to make. Last night for dinner we had chicken and sundried tomato sausages, with corn on the cob, and sauteed chili squash.

Over the next few weeks I've be sharing various vegetable recipes that we've tried, using some of our farm goodies. I'm kicking us off today with Italian Fennel and Onion Risotto. This recipe was from a colleague who lives in Italy and shares some wonderful traditional recipes. Neither Nic nor I was sure about a risotto with fennel but we were very pleasantly surprised.

1 cup Arborio rice (you can use regular long grain rice for risotto but you really do get much better, more authentic results with Arborio)
6 tbs extra virgin olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
1 fennel bulb, white part chopped
1 1/2 cups peas
1/4 cup fresh basil, leaves torn into pieces
few pieces of the fennel fronds
1/2 cup white wine
6 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup pecorino Romano cheese
2 tbs butter
1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley
1/4 cup grated Parmesan(again, the real thing tastes so much better than the shredded stuff in a shaker, and a little goes a long way because it has such a strong flavor)

Simmer the chicken stock in a large pan with the basil and fennel fronds.

In a large skillet, heat 3 tbs of the olive oil. Add the onions and fennel. Cover and cook for about 10 minutes on a medium low heat, allowing the vegetables to soften. Remove from heat and put to one side. Add the remaining olive oil to the skillet, heat for 30 seconds and add the rice.

You want to toss the rice so that it is coated with the oil. return the fennel and onions to the pan, along with the wine, which you want to reduce down to about 1/4.

Add some of the stock. Let it simmer and add more stock as the liquid level reduces. After about 15 minutes, add the peas, and continue to add the rest of the stock.

When it's nearly all absorbed, add the butter and the pecorino cheese. Stir them in well to add a creaminess to your risotto. Remove from the heat and serve, topped with parsley and Parmesan.