Corn, Zucchini & Sweet Pepper Saute

I came up with this recipe this summer, partly because I wanted to do something different with the sweet local corn I buy at the farmers markets, and partly because my seven-year-old son has lost his front top teeth, making it difficult to eat an ear of corn. This side dish has become a new favorite. I've made it numerous times at home, I've made it for friends and I even got my mother into making it. It has a very nice sweet and fresh flavor.

Cutting fresh uncooked corn off the cob is messy but it's so worth it. Here's how I handle this chore: get a large bowl and a short but sharp knife. Shuck the corn, remove all the silk strings. Using one hand, hold the ear of corn standing up in the bowl and with the other hand using the sharp knife, cut the kernels off, slashing straight down, rotating the cob until you get all the corn cut off. The kernels will fall down into the bowl where you want them. It's still kind of messy, you'll have corn juice all over you hands, but it's better than having corn kernels all over you kitchen counter tops, corn juice splattered all over (that was my scenario the first time I made this.)

The picture above is of the ingredients given below; I grew banana peppers this year in my garden and heirloom Italian zucchinis. The zuc variety known as Mexican squash is very tasty in this too. Feel free to change things up a bit to make things as colorful as you like. I've made this dish with a large red bell pepper with a dark green zucchini and the colors were amazing. It would be fun with a chocolate bell pepper too. Use what you like best, any fresh sweet pepper will do.

Also note: I use my enameled cast iron dutch oven for everything, including this dish. If you don't have one, use a large pan or pot with a wide bottom. The point is to saute the vegetables, not steam them, so the larger the cooking surface, the better. If you use a small tall pot the veggies will end up stewing and steaming in their own juices, giving you mush as a side dish; not at all what you're going for here. Cooked perfectly, it should be crisp yet tender.

Serves 4

2 ears of fresh sweet local corn
1 medium zucchini, chopped
2 large sweet banana peppers, chopped with seeds and membranes removed
2-4 Tbsp butter (you could do half butter and half olive oil if you prefer)

Heat your pan, pot or dutch oven over med-high heat until hot. Add the butter. When melted, add all three vegetables.

Saute, stirring with a wooden spoon, for about 5-7 minutes. Corn will start to glisten, the zucchini will be just to the tender but still intact stage, and the pepper will still have some crunch. Give it a taste to check the doneness.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper if desired.

British Scones

I love the idea of afternoon tea. I very much enjoy a cup or pot of hot black tea and tasty English tidbits. I was fortunate, years ago, to take Afternoon Tea at the Empress Hotel in Victoria, BC and it was a magical experience (even though, strictly speaking, it was not British but Canadian.) Even before, and ever since, I've enjoyed playing the lady in my own home; brewing up a pot of tea, warming up my favorite tea pot, using my best antique china and whipping up a batch of something baked to serve alongside.

I came across this recipe awhile ago on one of my trips to the local library. A favorite pastime of mine is to check out a dozen cooking and baking books and peruse them for hours at my leisure. This particular book was about a well loved tea house in a hole-in-the-wall place in New York. The woman who owns the place is a crazy wild British woman. The thing I liked about the book was the true and authentic recipes for all the British favorites. This recipe for scones was among them.


The taste and texture of these are truly delightful. The outsides have a slight crisp, with the insides being fluffy and soft, yet sturdy with a good crumb. I ate rather too many of these, they are delicious. Serve with fresh whipped cream and jam to top.

Makes 8 triangles

2 cups sifted all-purpose unbleached flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 Tbsp organic sugar
1 tsp finely ground sea salt
1 1/3 cup heavy cream

Preheat the oven to 375°.

Sift all the dry ingredients into a large bowl. Add the heavy cream and mix very gently with either your hands or a wooden spoon. Do not over mix. If the dough is very sloppy, you may add a bit of flour.

Lightly flour a board, or counter top. Using your hands, turn out the dough onto the floured surface and spread and pat the dough into a round shape, with 1 inch thickness.

With a knife, cut the round into 8 wedges. Place each wedge onto an un-greased baking sheet a few inches apart. Bake for 15 minutes, just until the scones no longer look wet in the crevices and the bottoms are golden.

Fresh from the Farm dinner

Saturday is market day for me; that is to say, the local Farmers Market. I am a happy locavore, which means I prefer to eat only local and in-season foods and I give preference to organically grown foods produced without pesticides, hormones, or genetically modified organisms. So I shop every Saturday at my local farmers market, where I know my farmers by name and rate them among my friends. One of the many benefits of eating locally produced food is that it simply tastes much better. I am in earnest here, it really does taste better. Your food is fresher and at it's peak; it has not sat on a shelf for weeks, it has no preservatives, it is fresh and straight from the earth in which it was grown.

If you have never tried a farmers market before, I highly recommend that you start now. And those of us in the Portland Metro area haven't any excuses; there are farmers markets in nearly every city every week. Find the one closest to you and go!

Tonight, I made dinner in about 30 minutes using fresh from my garden and just bought today ingredients. It was as tasty and delicious as anything you would order at a fancy restaurant. A whole lot cheaper too.

This menu requires a specialty item that I realize most of you will not have: Apricot Ginger Chutney. An Oregon City Farmers Market vendor, Diana's Delights, makes this wonderful chutney with apricots, oranges, fresh ginger, golden raisins, onions, garlic, coriander and sugar. It's amazing. You can easily substitute: use apricot jam mixed with some fresh minced onions and garlic, then add coriander and ground ginger.

Tonight's dinner: 

Golden Spiced Rib Chops

Haricot Verts

Sweet Corn

Pork Chops:

Bone-in rib chops or boneless loin chops, thawed

rubbed sage

salt & pepper

Apricot Ginger Chutney

Turn oven to broil. Rub in with your hands a sprinkle or two of sage, salt and pepper onto both sides of chops. Place chops on a broiler pan. Put in oven, 4 inches from the heat and broil for 15 minutes, turning chops every 5 minutes. Spread chops with the apricot ginger chutney and broil for 5 minutes more. Pork is done when it reaches 150°-160°.

Haricot Verts (pronounced ar-ee-co verz):

1 lb haricot verts, slender french green beans

2 Tbsp butter

1 large shallot, minced

1-2 cloves of garlic, minced

red wine vinegar

Boil green beans for 3 minutes. Green beans will be crisp-tender. If you like your green beans more tender, you may boil for up to 5 minutes, but no longer or you'll have a goopy mess. Drain and set aside. In the same pot over med-high heat, melt butter. Add shallot and garlic. Saute, stirring until garlic is golden and shallots are tender, about 1-2 minutes. Add green beans and toss around in pot for 1 minute. Add a splash or two of red wine vinegar, it will deglaze the pot and add wonderful flavor.

Sweet Corn:

Fresh ears of corn (best the day you've bought them)

water

In a large pot, half fill with water. Shuck the corn, removing husk and silk strands. Drop into the pot of cold water. Bring to a boil on high heat. Cover with a lid, turn off heat and let stand 10 minutes.

Raspberry Lemon Tart with crumble topping

If you love sweet and sour desserts, you are sure to love this one. This divine tart starts with a thick layer of sweet and flaky shortbread crust, then piled with lemon curd and raspberries, then topped with more crumbled shortbread. Pair it with a cup of coffee and you will have yourself a little slice of heaven.

This recipe comes from The Grand Central Baking Book, from the bakers at the Grand Central Bakery in Portland, Oregon. An inspiring book, one of my favorites. I actually combined two of it's recipes to make this one awesome dessert.
 
To save myself time and effort, I used a jar of lemon curd that I bought at my local farmers market. One of the vendors there makes small batch jams, relishes, chutneys and lemon curd in the authentic British way. The following recipe tells how to make the lemon curd from scratch. I suggest that you make it in advance; the lemon curd will keep in the refrigerator for up to one week.

Also, note: the picture above is of an unfinished tart, before I baked it with the crumble topping on. Once it was baked, it was so quickly devoured that I didn't get a photo. Next time.


Serves 8

Crust:
2 1/2 cup all-purpose unbleached organic flour
3/4 tsp sea salt, finely ground
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Lemon Curd:
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 Tbsp finely chopped lemon zest
4 egg yolks
6 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/4 tsp sea salt, finely ground

1 pint fresh raspberries
3 Tbsp granulated sugar

3-4 Tbsp confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Preheat oven to 350°. Assemble a 10-inch spring-form pan.

For the dough:
Whisk the flour and salt together. Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, or a hand beater like I did, beat the butter and sugar together on medium speed for about 5 minutes, until light in color and fluffy. Add the vanilla and mix to incorporate. Reduce he speed to low and add the dry ingredients, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl several times. Stop mixing when the dough is still crumbly. This happens quickly; the mixture will look dry and floury, then little clumps will suddenly appear. Don't over mix, or you will end up with a ball of dough that will be difficult to use.

Set aside 1 cup of the dough, then sprinkle the rest (about 2 1/2 cups) on the bottom of a 10-inch springform pan. Distribute it evenly, without pressing it. Bring the dough slightly up the sides of the pan to contain the lemon curd, then lightly press the dough to hold it in place. Refrigerate the reserved cup of dough. Bake for 25 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time. The crust should be toasty brown.

To make the lemon curd:
Combine the sugar, lemon zest, and egg yolks in a bowl or the top of a double boiler and whisk together immediately; don't delay or the mixture will coagulate. Put the bowl over a pan or the bottom of the double boiler with about an inch of lightly simmering water and whisk continuously until the sugar dissolves. Add the lemon juice and, still whisking continuously, cook for about 5 minutes. Add the butter and salt, then use a spatula to stir constantly until the mixture is the consistancy of sour cream, which will happen at about 170°.

Strain the curd through a fine mesh sieve. If you won't be using it right away, cover with plastic wrap, placing it directly on the surface so the curd doesn't form a skin, and refrigerated for up to one week.

Fill and bake:
Spoon the curd into the baked crust, smoothing with a spatula. Scatter raspberries onto the lemon curd, sprinkle with the granulated sugar. Crumble the reserved 1 cup of dough over the top. Bake for 40 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time. The berries will collapse and the topping will be slightly brown. Immediately dust the warm tart with the confectioners sugar, then let cool slightly before removing the sides of the sprinform pan.

Mediterranean Kale

Our family is relatively new to greens; collard, kale, mustard. Neither I, nor my husband, grew up eating the stuff. However, you can call us converts now.

Having researched the nutritional values of kale and other greens, I was amazed to learn that they are considered superfoods. Kale has very high amounts of vitamins K, A and C; it is a good source of manganese, fiber, calcium and many other vitamins and minerals; all with very low calories (36 per one cup serving). Added to this powerhouse of nutrition, kale as well as collards are known to prevent the occurrence of various forms of cancer, they aid in eye health and they have powerful anti-inflammatory properties. What is not to like about this food?

This summer, I have been buying bunches of kale from my local farmers market, of course organic or "better than organic" as some of my farmers say. Looking for creative recipes, I ran across one that sounded delicious in one of my new cookbooks, Eating Local. Looking through another coookbook my mother loaned me, Mediterranean: Food of the Sun, I realized that this type of recipe is traditional in Italy, Spain and many others. In Spain, it seems to be made with spinach. The traditional recipes also call for pine nuts, but as I didn't have any on hand, I did without.

Serves 4

2 Tbsp raisins, golden if you have them
1/4 cup hot water
1 1/2 lbs or a large bunch kale, any variety
3 Tbsp olive oil
2-3 large cloves of garlic, minced
1 large shallot, chopped
sea salt

Put raisins in a small bowl, add the hot water, and let soften 10-20 minutes-until plump.

Rinse kale well, removing all traces of dirt, bugs, weed seeds, etc. **Remember, organically produced food may not be the prettiest, but it is so much better for you.

Put a large pot of salted water to boil over high heat.

Remove and discard (in your compost) the tough center ribs from the kale. I do this by laying the kale on a cutting board, folding the leaf in half along the rib line, and slicing the rib clean off with a sharp knife.

Add kale to the boiling water and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain in a colander and immediately run cold water over kale until it is cool. Drain and press or squeeze out excess water. Chop coarsely with a sharp knife.

Heat a large stainless steel pan over medium to medium high heat. Add the olive oil and heat until hot, about a minute. Add the garlic and shallot. Saute for about one minute, stirring with a wooden utensil. The shallot will be tender while the garlic will turn golden and slightly crisp. Add the kale and drained raisins. Cook, stirring, 1-2 minutes; until kale is coated in olive oil and the whole is hot throughout. Serve immediately.

Pancake Crepes with Raspberries

This is not a true crepe, rather my experiment with a pancake recipe forgoing any rising agent. True crepes have a large liquid to flour ratio. I have had crepes before, however, I do not prefer them. I love a good pancake and so do my sons; we make them frequently around here. I have, for some time now, wanted to see what happens when you leave out the chemical rising agent (baking soda, baking powder) when making fluffy pancakes. Our home has increasingly become a chemical free zone as we have replaced our usual grocery store products with, from-nature-as-God-had-intended, natural and organic products. I read food and product labels religiously and even if there is one thing objectionable in the mix I will not buy it.

Anyhow, back to my recipe. These pancake crepes turned out so well, I will be making them all the time in the future. As sometimes happens with fluffy pancakes, these are not dry or pasty, nor do they require one to douse the whole bottle of maple syrup on top. These come out moist, tender and sweet.

Makes six 5" pancake crepes:

1 large free-range egg
1 cup all purpose, unbleached organic flour
3/4 cup milk, non-homogenized
2 Tbsp organic sugar
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp pure vanilla
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 tsp cinnamon

Beat the egg in a medium sized glass, ceramic or metal bowl until fluffy. Beat in remaining ingredients until just smooth. Do not over mix; too much mixing will give these a gummy texture.

Heat a stainless steel pan over medium heat. When the pan is heated up, add a small swirl of olive oil, turning pan to coat the bottom. Let oil heat for a few seconds.

Pour pancake crepe batter onto hot pan until roughly 4-5 inches in diameter across (or the size you prefer.) Cook cake-crepe until edges are dry and only the middle seems uncooked. Flip and cook on other size for a very short time, until golden on bottom.

Watch cake-crepes carefully. Stainless steel pans cook more efficiently, so it may be necessary to turn down the heat a bit to avoid burning the cake-crepes.

If not serving cake-crepes as they come off the pan, hold in a pre-heated warm (200°) oven, in a single layer on a towel covered cookie sheet.

Serve hot, with a drizzle of pure maple syrup and a few raspberries on top.