Yummy things

Pretty pictures

So this week has kicked my butt a little bit.  A week ago, at 4 PM on a Friday afternoon, the powers that be decided it would be a good idea to move my office a just three days before students arrive on campus for orientation.  To make it more “fun”, moving my office also includes moving to a new computer, a new e-mail, and a new calendaring system. Okay, I’ll admit, getting a MacBook is a little fun, but transferring all your appointments to a new system and being unable to access 4 years worth of e-mail from the new e-mail system is just a pain in the tail, especially when I already had LOTS of other things to do before the new school year starts.  And no one ever enjoys packing moving boxes.  So despite the fact that we got our usual CSA share earlier in the week, I’m just now getting around to posting some photos. TGIF!

Our full share, before the split - red bell peppers, arugula, tomatoes, sungolds, and the first butternut squash of the season

A nice assortment of flowers, which were fun to play with for my photography assignment this week to look at texture

Photogenic produce

Last month I decided to embrace the extra bit of free time I have over the summer and take a photography class.  I’m hoping to improve my confidence when I’m out photographing things with Dan, who was the photography editor for our college newspaper, and I’m also hoping this blog will benefit from my learnings.  So while I haven’t posted here much in August, I have been working to capture some beautiful meals.  If you have a favorite you want to hear more about, just drop me an e-mail, and I’ll post more.  I think these photos probably do a better job capturing the beauty of summer than my writing does anyhow.

Sungold tomatoes - little bites of the sun!

Pods and their purple hull beans

Into the pit of a peach

Sicilian chicken and peppers over polenta

Afternoon delight - roasted tomato, peppers, and corn soup with grilled cheese with curried goat cheese spread

Chocolate-cherry dessert bars
Fresh cherries are hard to beat, but if you’re going to try, adding butter, sugar, chocolate, and almonds is a pretty good way to try!

Summer loving

The peppers and tomatoes are in full swing here in North Carolina, so I think this weekend will be great for braising some chicken Sicilian style.  But in the mean time, I’m just going to snack on tomato sandwiches and this lovely watermelon!

CSA - Week 14 - 2 slicing tomatoes, Sungold tomatoes, red bell pepper and watermelon!

The sunflowers also make it seem super summery!  So here’s an added close-up for good measure.

I hope you’re all enjoying summer while it lasts.  It’s hard to believe we’re just days away from August!

Whew!

We’ve had a busy summer, and I just can’t seem to keep up.  This weekend we hosted Dan’s parents, his uncle Larry and aunt Sharon, his aunt Virginia and uncle Kevin, and his cousin Brian.  Except for Dan’s parents, it was everyone’s first time in the Triangle, so we had to pack a lot in!  In less than 36 hours, we got to:

• Enjoy barbeque at the Q Shack
• Tomato Day at the Carrboro Farmers’ Market (check out a copy of Totally Tomato, their booklet that includes tomato recipes, stories, and memories submitted by customers and vendors that’s available in PDF!)
• Explore the UNC campus and make a (very) brief trip through Franklin Street
• Lunch at Weaver Street Market
• Ice cream on the front porch of Maple View
  
  
  Dan had Carolina Crunch for the first time
  
  
  Larry, Sharon, Virginia, and Kevin
• A Durham Bulls game!
  
  
  Funny how the little kid always manages to beat Wool E. Bull around the bases!
• Brunch at Elmo’s
• See some lovely flowers at Duke Gardens
  
  
  There were some really lovely butterflies at the gardens this weekend.  I don’t recall ever seeing so many before.
  
  
  It was HOT, but the sun really lit up these gorgeous flowers.
• Visit the highlights of Duke’s campus, including the Chapel and K-ville
  
  
  Everyone enjoyed a chance to relax inside the Chapel, where it was cool.
  
  
  I love all the colorful stained glass.
• Have dinner at home, with a surprise birthday dessert for Larry!
  
  
  Pizza #1, with a tomato sauce, pepperoni, peppers and Penzey’s pizza seasoning, which really does wonders to make homemade stuff taste like pizza shop pizza.
  
  
  Pizza #2, with a basil sauce, heirloom tomatoes, peppers (can you tell these are in season at the market now?), and goat cheese.
  
  
  Summer birthday dessert - with fresh blackberries from the market, blueberries and cherries.  YUM!

It was a whirlwind, but it was really fun to show everyone around and enjoy the company!  Now Dan and I are here for the rest of the summer, which is good, because I’ve got too much going on, and things are just going to get busier, since classes start back up at Duke in 4 weeks.  I can’t hardly believe it.  But hopefully I’ll be able to get some good summer recipes posted before it gets too crazy.  Cross your fingers!

Back to basics

This week’s CSA box was full of summer classics - tomatoes and basil.  Just calling out for a good pizza! Amazingly, it didn’t include any cucumbers, so my friend Ellen graciously gave me one from her garden so I didn’t go into withdrawal.

Also, we got some lovely zinnias to add some color to the house.

Great summer classics.  :-)

Too much fun, too little time

This weekend, Dan and I made a quick trip to Indiana.  As usual, the weekend sped by too quickly, but we still got to enjoy lots of fun.  Highlights included:

• A pimento cheese sandwich at Artemesia in Louisville, with a lovely side dish of fresh corn, which, unfortunately, is probably impossible to replicate without the chef’s secret spice blend
• A trip to Huber’s Farm Market, where we took off with loads of loot, including peaches, nectarines, blackberries, corn, tomatoes, and a big jar of apple butter, since apparently Harris Teeter does not see this to be the essential toast topper that I do
• A leisurely dinner at Le Relais out at Bowman Field.  And by leisurely, I mean the waiter pretty much kicked us out.  :-)

via Fleur-de-louis on Flickr

• A long run on Old Hill Road, Old Vincennes Road, and Slate Road.  Good hills, perfect weather, and some nice views.
• Breakfast with Julie, Elizabeth and Gunther with fresh baked banana bread and sliced peaches.  Yum!
• Megan and Alex’s wedding!

The newlyweds, from Dan

Gettelfinger cousin extravanganza, from Whitney

Dan taking advantage of the open bar - one of the few photos I took over the weekend!

• A nice recovery run with Elizabeth, even though she kicked my butt with the final sprint to the mailbox!
• A baby shower with lots of baby love to go around with Grace and Knox both in attendance.  :-)

Cutie pie photo #1 - me and Grace (age: 6 months)

Cutie pie photo #2: Whitney and Knox (age: 4 months)

Total baby love - Lindsey, Knox, Grace, and her mom, Amanda

• An awesome handpie that Whitney made for me with Huber’s blackberries to eat at the airport.  Definitely the best food you’ll get in the Atlanta food court ever!

Now Dan and I are back in NC for the rest of the summer, so it’s back to some more local adventures.

CSA colors

This week, we had a lovely diversity of produce in our CSA box.  What a beautiful time of year to eat your colors!

An amazing heirloom tomato, two smaller tomatoes, a gypsy bell pepper, Sungold tomatoes, cantaloupe, red potatoes, 3 ears of corn, and a mere 4 cucumbers

Pretty flowers too!

Cucumber solutions

After a total overabundance of cucumbers last week, I was glad to discover some new ways to use up our bounty.

First off, I have to thank my friend, Meredith, for encouraging me to get over my worries about cold soup and sharing her dad’s recipe for a cool cucumber soup.  Cold soup is a whole new entity in its own, separate from hot soup, but that’s kind of like how summer in the south is a totally different game than summers elsewhere.  As such, cold cucumber soup after a long summer run in North Carolina is just right!

Cool cucumber soup

Inspired by Papa Anderson, and Meredith’s kind e-mail
Serves 2

Chop 3 Kirby cucumbers, peeled and seeded.  Slice 2 green onions, using whites and half of green.  Drop cucumber and onions into blender container. 
Add:
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon dried dill
1 tablespoon fresh basil
Turn on blender (covered) to high speed. When almost liquefied but still a little lumpy, turn off blender.

Add in 1/4 cup sour cream (light seemed to work fine) and blend just until combined.

Pour into two cups, and chill in refrigerator one hour or more.

—-

My other cucumber success was a lucky clean out the fridge kind of dish, which used up a single chicken breast, a leftover chunk of feta, some mint from the front porch, my favorite quinoa, and oh yeah, a few more cucumbers!  It was great.  It’ll definitely enter my regular July rotation when the gardens are flush with cucumbers.

Quinoa salad with chicken and cucumber
Yield: 2 hearty portions or 4 lighter summer salads

Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a small saucepan with a lid.  Add 1 cup quinoa.  Cover and reduce heat to simmer.  Cook for 15 minutes, until water is absorbed and germ ring becomes visible.  Set aside.

Meanwhile, chop 1 chicken breast into 1/2 inch pieces.  Coat skillet with cooking spray, and saute chicken. Set chicken aside.

Combine, the following in a blender:
1/4 cup light mayonaise
1/8 cup light sour cream
3 tablespoons buttermilk
2 green onions (whites and greens)
2 tablespoons fresh mint
1 tablespoon fresh dill or 1 teaspoon dried dill
1 tablespoon fresh chervil or 1 teaspoon dried chervil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
Blend until smooth and herbs are well chopped and combined.

In a large bowl, combine cooked quinoa, chicken and herb sauce. 
Stir in:
2 Kirby cucumbers, chopped into 1-inch pieces
2 ounces of feta, crumbled

Chill for 30 minutes.  Serve cold.  Garnish with fresh mint leaves.

Beautiful basil

Sometimes it’s amazing how one simple ingredient can add so much to a dish.  Last week, we got one sandwich bag of basil in our CSA and it was just wonderful in two totally different dishes.

First up, flatbread pizzas.  I took the dough recipe from Cooking Light, and then added a lovely heirloom tomato and sliced zucchini.  The flatbread was great.  It rose up beautifully out on the back porch on a warm NC night, and then it baked up nice and crispy.  But the best part was the basil drizzle. The spicyness of the basil with the smooth olive oil was just right.

Tomato zucchini flatbread pizzas
Serves 4

Make 1 recipe flatbread dough.  Shape into 4 ovals.  Place on a baking sheet covered with cornmeal. Preheat oven to 475 degrees.

Slice 1 large heirloom tomato and 1 large zucchini into half moons.  Layout tomato slices on the flatbread dough, then surround tomato slices with zucchini.

Bake flatbreads for 10 minutes at 475 degrees.

In a small bowl combine:
4 teaspoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon ground pepper
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh basil

Drizzle basil mixture over tomato and zucchini on each flatbread.  Spread 1 cup of mozzarella cheese over flatbreads.

Bake flatbreads for an additional 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

A completely different dish, which was also enhanced by a bouquet of basil, was lemon basil cake from eat make read.

I used Kelly’s exact directions, so you can just swing over there - to check out her adventures with market week and to find this delicious recipe.  The basil adds a lovely element to what’s already a deliciously moist cake.  And it was just perfect with the blackberries from our CSA.  A great way to end a summer meal!

Beautiful!

Summer bounty

Hello again!  Summer is in full swing, but I seem to have failed on all the recent photo ops.

Despite three days in DC over the 4th of July weekend, I didn’t take a single picture of the fun with the Davis cousins.  At least Dan took some great photos at the Nationals game and of the fireworks on the Mall. If you’re on Facebook, you can find them there.

Sam, Meghan, Beth and Adam at the Nationals game

My favorite photo of the fireworks

Then I used up our CSA share before remembering to photograph it, I made my new favorite potato salad with pickled okra and gobled it up over lunches without a camera, and then I made a blueberry salsa that I should have let be, but instead baked over chicken, which turned it a funny, non-photogenic color.  (The blueberry salsa was a fun concoction though; I’d definitely try it again - over grilled chicken, as suggested.)

Finally, the Durham Farmers’ Market saved me - with great produce to make into yummy summer dishes.

My yield from the Durham Farmers’ Market - an orange sherbert melon, 2 earns of corn, Japanese eggplant, purple hull beans, a green pepper, red bliss potatoes, zucchini, a jalapeno, and green onions

Since it’s been such a long time since I last posted a recipe, I figured I should at least go with an original one that can be completely made with fresh local produce at this time of year.  Other good summer dishes coming soon!

Purple hull bean and eggplant stew
Serves 3

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large Dutch oven. Add 1 cup of chopped onion; cook 5 minutes.  Then add:
2 Japanese eggplants, chopped into 1-inch dice
1 1/2 cups purple hull beans (from 1 lb. of bean pods)
2 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 bay leaf
Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer, partially covered, 45 minutes or until beans are tender.

Add 1 1/2 pounds of tomatoes, cored and chopped.  Reduce heat, and simmer, partially covered, 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine with a whisk:
1/4 cup  yellow cornmeal
1/4 cup  all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon  baking powder
1/4 teaspoon  salt
1/4 teaspoon  sugar
Then add:
3 tablespoons low-fat buttermilk
2 tablespoons egg substitute
1/2 tablespoon  butter, melted
Let stand for 10 minutes.

Add 12 cornmeal dumplings to stew.  Cover and cook for 10 minutes.

Vacation highlights

Before we head off on another trip out of town (we’re headed to DC for the holiday weekend!), I thought I’d finish up summarizing our New England trip.  Whew!  All this traveling is tough to keep up with!

In addition to lots of great eats, this trip was great because we got to catch up with so many different people.  Among our favorite outings were:

• Visiting our college friends, Joan and Chris, and their little girls, Kira and Alana.  We were lucky to be able to drive through New Hampshire less than 2 weeks after Kira was born.  It was also our first time to meet Alana in person; she’s even cuter than all the Facebook pictures we’ve been keeping up with!
  
  Joan and Kira
  
  
  Alana puts on her pretty pink shoes
  
• Getting lucky and being in Vermont the same time our friends Philly Kristin and Adam were, so that we could all hang out at their cabin in Hinesburg.  We also had a great time hiking with them at Smuggler’s Notch.
  
  Outside the cabin with Kristin and Adam
  
  
  At the top of Pond Trail on Smuggler’s Notch
  
• Checking out the Bread Loaf School of English at Middlebury College, where Kelsey just started graduate school.  It’s a lovely campus with stunning goldenrod buildings.
  
  Kelsey in front of the Bread Loaf Inn, where her room is
  
  
  Kelsey’s room for the next 6 weeks - she got lucky and got a single room!
  
  
  The view from Kelsey’s window - pretty scenic, huh?
  
  
  A classroom building, and the Ark, where all Bread Loaf social events are held
  
  
  I loved the light and the colors inside the Ark
  
• The view of Montreal from the Mont Royal park
  
• The Basilique Notre-Dame in Old Montreal.  The French Gothic interior was amazing, and I loved the look of the Sacre-Couer Chapel. 
  
  The altar of the main sanctuary
  
  
  All the carvings, painting and gold leafing within the sanctuary were done by hand!
  
  
  The contemporary bronze sculpture at the altar of the chapel.
  
  
  An example of the amazing craftmanship in the chapel.  It was all refinished by hand after arson destroyed the chapel in 1978.  The mix of the traditional and the contemporary was just right for the 1982 rennovation.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this vicarious trip through New Hampshire, Vermont, and Quebec! If so, you can check out more photos here.

More adventures from our weekend in our nation’s capitol after the holiday weekend.  :-)

Cucumber craziness

When I tell people about our CSA and suggest they consider it, they are normally worried that they’d get a bunch of food that we don’t want to eat.  I try to explain that getting new things is part of the fun, and that eating seasonally keeps you on your toes.  And I really believe that.  But this is the one time of year that I can’t seem to keep up with the cucumbers.  This week we got four, and I still had one leftover from before!

I’m definitely going to make some refrigerator pickles, and I’ve the following are other things I’ve tried:
Roasted red pepper sandwich spread - my favorite thing to use cucumbers in - the first thing I always when the cucumbers arrive, but now I’ve got two jars worth in the fridge

Cucumber, mango and black bean salad with jerk chicken and carrot-cucumber salad - a fun, fruity dish with a colorful, crisp side for a nice summer meal
Cucumber lemonade spritzers - very refreshing for the hot NC weather

But now, I’m looking for any and all suggestions on good cucumber dishes to try.  I’m thinking there’s got to be something Asian that’s worth playing around with.  What else should I consider?

New England adventures

As you might have surmised from the lack of posting for the last week and a half, Dan and I just returned from a week up north.  It was great to escape the HOT weather we’ve been having in North Carolina, to catch up with friends and family, and to enjoy some great food and sites along the way.  Some of the best food highlights included:

• Lunch at The Cheesecake Factory with Grandma Bea.  Yes, I know, it’s a big chain restaurant, with a crazy menu, but few things could top how pleased Bea was with the rustic lentil soup and time out with her grandson.
  
• Lunch out with Sanjukta and Mark at Emma’s Pizza.  A Cambridge institution since the 60s with good reason.  Pizzas with combos like bacon, yukon golds, cranberries and cilantro or sweet potato, spinach, carmelized onions, and goat cheese were great ways to think outside of the standard pizza box.
  
  
• A trip to the Boyston Street farmers market and the resulting vegetarian dinner at Dan’s parents house, which may deserve it’s own post soon.
  
  
• A lovely steak dinner on the picnic table at the cabin we shared with our friends Kristin and Adam outside Hinesburg, Vermont
  
• Cheap, delicious eats at Restaurant Boustan in Montreal, with my sister, Kelsey.  Yeah for Yelp leading us to some yummy Lebanese food close to our hotel.  Kelsey couldn’t even wait until we paid to dig into the garlicky potatoes!
  
• The smoked meat sandwich at Rueben’s Deli.  Well, maybe.  I’m not quite sure I’m in love with this Montreal favorite, but it was an experience.  Dan and I shared the 1 lb. sandwich, and it was pretty intense. 
  
• The Marche Jean-Talon.  Despite the craziness of driving around to find the place and dealing with the parking, it was worth it.  Lovely produce, a great atmosphere, and crepes!
  
  

More on the non-eating parts of the trip soon!

Back to our previously scheduled programming...

After a brief departure to provide a travelogue of our Western adventure, I’m back to my usual food focused narratives.  The run of summer produces is in full swing here in North Carolina, so there are many great dishes just waiting to be made.

This week’s CSA - 3 cukes, 4 squash and lovely Sungold tomatoes

Even simple weeknight dinners are full of colorful produce that please the eyes, while also ensuring we get our fill of important vitamins and minerals.

Stir-fry with broccoli and zucchini from Maple Springs Garden

Summer vegetable tart with zucchini and summer squash from Maple Springs

But the real pleasure recently was last weekend, when Dan’s cousin, Sam, and I worked together to put together some excellent dinner party fixings.

Sam in the kitchen

Sam took on the appetizer and dinner using cucumbers, jalapenos, and fresh herbs from his garden.

Sam and Meghan’s garden box in Glen Lennox

The appetizer was some lovely fried green tomatoes, encrusted in tortilla chips, and topped with a sundried tomato sauce.

Frying the tomatoes

The finished appetizer

Dinner included tzatsiki, carmelized fennel, grilled asparagus and herb rubbed salmon.  Sadly, all the local asparagus is gone, but the loads of fresh herbs made up for it.

Sam mans the grill

The carmelized fennel was an excellent counterpoint to the rich salmon and the creamy tzatsiki.  Previously, Dan has declared the fennel is one of three foods he doesn’t like (curiously, the other two are bananas and celery, the most simple foods I’ve ever heard someone not like!), but I think even he was won over with this preparation.  It probably didn’t hurt that the whole dish came together in such a lovely way. I guess that’s what they teach you in culinary school.

The finished dinner plate

For dessert, Sam said to go decadent, and I went for it.  I made a peach-cornmeal upside-down cake and a orange-lime mousse.

Our decadent dessert

Both recipes are courtesy of Miss Martha, and together, I think they’re a perfect balance of prettiness and deliciousness.  The mousse is really the taste winner, but the cake is the show stopper.

Both require several steps, but none of them are particularly hard.  In lieu of posting the recipe, given that I really just followed Martha’s directions, except for using almond extract and nutmeg and cloves in the cake, here’s a pictorial overview of the prep.

The cake starts with sliced peaches (the first of the season from Lyon Farms), arranged in a cast iron skillet with butter and sugar.

Then a cornmeal batter is poured atop, and it’s finished in the oven.

The trickiest part is just getting the thing out of the pan.  But it’s lovely once you get it right side up (or is that upside down?).

Peach-cornmeal upside-down cake

The mousse starts with a homemade citrus curd with oranges and lime, and yes, a lot of eggs and butter.

Cooling the citrus curd over an ice bath

Then fresh whipped cream is folded into the curd.  That’s it!

Adding a garnish of nutmeg, lime zest and fresh orange slices finishes the whole dish off. (That, and the lovely dish from my sister!)

Orange-lime mousse

Unfortunately, we failed to get a photo of the whole dinner party crowd, which included Sam’s dad, James, and his wife, Julie, who we finally met after living here for nearly 7 years!  It was a wonderful summer dinner with lovely company.  We’ll definitely have to find ways to repeat it as new produce shows up in Sam and Meghan’s garden and at the market.