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Here are the tastingspoons players. I’m in the middle (Carolyn). Daughter Sara on the right, and daughter-in-law Karen on the left. I started the blog in 2007, as a way to share recipes with my family. I’m still doing 99% of the blogging and holding out hope that these two lovely and excellent cooks will participate. They both lead very busy lives, so we’ll see.

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BOOK READING (from Carolyn):

Music of Bees, Eileen Garvin. Absolutely charming book about a woman in midlife, lonely, who raises bees, also makes unlikely friends. Heart-warming and very interesting about beekeeping.

A Postcard from Paris, Alex Brown. Really cute story. Dual time line, 1940s and present day about renovating an old apartment in Paris, things discovered.

Time of the Child, Niall Williams. Oh such a good book. Very small village in Ireland, 1960s. A baby is left on the doorstep. The town all whispers and helps. I listened to an interview of the author, which made me like him and his books even more.

Sipsworth, Simon Van Booy. If you like animals you’ll swoon. An old woman who really wants to die finds a tiny mouse in her house and befriends it and finds a reason to live. Utterly charming book.

The Forger’s Spell, Edward Dolnick. True story. For seven years a no-account painter named Han van Meegeren managed to pass off his paintings as those of Johannes Vermeer.

If You Lived Here, You’d be Home by Now, Christopher Ingraham. Could hardly put it down – about a journalist who takes on a challenge to move to small town in Minnesota and write about it. He expects to hate it and the people and place, but he doesn’t. Absolutely wonderful true story.

The River We Remember, William Kent Kreuger. 1950s, Minnesota. A murder and the aftermath. Could hardly put it down. Kreuger has such a vivid imagination and writing style.

How the Lights Gets In, Joyce Maynard. An older woman returns to New Hampshire to help care for her brain-injured son. Siblings and family, lots of angst and resentments.

The Filling Station, Vanessa Miller. Every American should read this book. A novelized retelling of the Tulsa massacre in 1921. Absolutely riveting.

The Story She Left Behind, Patti Callahan Henry. Love this author. Based on a true story. A famous author simply vanishes, leaving her husband and daughter behind. She had invented a mystical language no one could translate. Present day, someone thinks he’s solved the riddle, contacts the family. Really interesting read.

The Girl from Berlin, Ronald Balson. Love anything about Tuscany. An elderly woman is being evicted from a villa there, with odd deed provenance. Two young folks go there to help unravel the mystery. Loved it.

The Island of the Colorblind, Oliver Sacks, M.D. Nonfiction. The dr is intrigued by a remote Pacific island where most of the inhabitants are colorblind. He also unravels a mystery on Guam of people born with a strange neurological problem. Medical mysteries unveiled. Very interesting.

The Bookbinder, Pip Williams. Post 1914 London. Two sisters work at a bookbindery. They’re told to not read the books. One does and one doesn’t. One has visions beyond her narrow world; the other does not. Eventually the one gets into Oxford. Lovely story.

The Paris Express, Emma Donoghue. 1895 on a train to Paris, a disaster happens. You’ll delve into the lives of many people who survived and died in the crash.

A Race to the Bottom of Crazy, Richard Grant. This is about Arizona. Author, wife and child move back to Arizona where they once lived. Part memoir, research, and reporting in a quest to understand what makes Arizona such a confounding and irresistible place.

The Scarlet Thread, Francine Rivers. A woman’s life turned upside down when she discovers the handcrafted quilt and journal of her ancestor Mary Kathryn McMurray, a young woman who was uprooted from her home only to endure harsh frontier conditions on the Oregon Trail.

A Place to Hide, Ronald Balson. 1939 Amsterdam, an ambassador has the ability to save the lives of many Jewish children. Heartwarming.

Homeseeking, Karissa Chen. Two young Chinese teens are deeply in love, but in China. Then their families are separated. Jump to current day and the two meet again in Los Angeles.

North River, Pete Hammill. He always writes such a good story. A doctor works diligently healing people from all walks of life. His wife and daughter left him years before. One day his 3-yr old grandson arrives on his doorstep.

A Very Typical Family, Sierra Godfrey. A very messed-up family. Three adult children are given a home in Santa Cruz, Calif, but only if the siblings meet up and live in the house together. A very untypical scenario but makes for lots of messes.

Three Days in June, Anne Tyler. The usual Anne Tyler grit. Family angst. This wasn’t one of my favorites, but it was entertaining and very short.

Saved, Benjamin Hall. Author is a veteran war reporter. Ukraine, 2022, he nearly loses his life to a Russian strike. Riveting story – he survives, barely.

Grey Wolf, Louise Penny. Another Inspector Gamache mystery in Quebec. She is such an incredible mystery writer.

All the Colors of the Dark, Chris Whitaker. A missing person mystery, a serial killer thriller, a love story, a unique twist on each. Could hardly put it down.

Orbital, Samantha Harvey. Winner of 2024 Booker Prize. I don’t usually like those, but I heard the author interviewed and she hooked me. This is not a normal book with a beginning, a story and an end. It’s several chapters of the day in the life of various astronauts at the ISS (Int’l Space Station). All fictional. She’s been praised by several real astronauts for “getting it” about space station everyday life.

The Blue Hour, Paula Hawkins. An island off Scotland. Inaccessible except when the tide is out. Weird goings on. An artist. A present day mystery too.

Iron Lake, William Kent Krueger. A judge is murdered and a boy is missing. Riveting mystery.

Tell the Wolves I’m Home, Carol Ricks Brunt. 1980s. A 14-yr old girl loses her beloved uncle. Yet a new friendship arises, someone she never knew about.

Four Treasures of the Sky, Jenny Zhang. 1880s, a young girl is kidnapped in China and brought to the United States. She survives with many hurdles in the path.

The Boy Who Fell out of the Sky, Ken Dornstein. Memoir, 1988. The author’s brother died in the PanAm flight that went down in Lockerbie, Scotland. A decade later he tries to solve “the riddle of his older brother’s life.”

Worse Care Scenario, T.J. Newman. Oh my. Interesting analysis of what could/might happen if a jet crashed into a nuclear plant. Un-put-downable.

Song of the Lark, Willa Cather. Complicated weave of a story about a young woman in about 1900, who has a gifted voice (singing) and about her journey to success, not without its ups and downs.

Crow Talk, Eileen Garvin. Charming story which takes place at a remote lake in Washington State, about a few people who inhabit it, the friendships made, but also revolving around the rescue of a baby crow.

The Story Collector, Evie Woods. Sweet story about some dark secrets from an area in Ireland, a bit magical, faerie life, but solving a mystery too.

A Sea of Unspoken Things, Adrienne Young. A woman investigates her twin brother’s mysterious death. She goes to a small town in California to figure it out, to figure HIM out.

The King’s Messenger, Susanna Kearsley. 1600s England, King James. About one of his trusted “messengers,” and his relationship with a young woman also of “the court.” Lots of intrigue.

In the Shadow of the Greenbrier, Emily Matchar. Interesting mystery in/around the area of the famous resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.

Isola, Allegra Goodman. Hard to describe, survival story on an island in the 1600s.

Save the Date, Allison Raskin. Rom-com, witty, LOL funny. Clever.

The Sirens, Emilia Hart. Numerous time-lines, Australia. Mysteries abound, nightmares, abandoned baby, weird allergies.

Red Clay, Charles Fancher. LOVED this book. Mostly post-Civil War story about the lives of slaves in Alabama during Reconstruction.

Stars in an Italian Sky, Jill Santopolo. Dual time line, 1946 and recent time. Love stories and a mystery.

Battle Mountain, C.J. Box. Another one of Box’s riveting mysteries. Love his descriptions of the land.

Something Beautiful Happened, Yvette Corporon. A memoir of sorts in Greece, tiny island of Erikousa, where the locals hid Jews during WWII. All elusive stories told by the author’s grandmother.

The Jackal’s Mistress, Chris Bohjalian. 1860s Virginia, about a woman who saves the life of a Union soldier. Really good story.

Song of the Magpie, Louise Mayberry. Really interesting story about Australia back in the days when it was mostly a penal colony. Gritty strength of a woman trying to thrive with her farm.

The Boomerang, Robert Bailey. A thriller that will have you gripping the book. About a lot of secrets surrounding the president (fictional novel, remember) and his chief of staff and about cancer. A cure. Such a good story.

Care and Feeding, Laurie Woolever. Really interesting memoir of a woman driven to succeed in the restaurant business. She worked for Mario Batali and then Anthony Bourdain. Gritty stories.

Everything is Tuberculosis, John Green. Maybe not a book for everyone. A real deep dive into the deadly tuberculosis infection, its history. I heard the author interviewed and found the book very interesting.

The Book Lovers Library, Madeline Martin. Fascinating read about Boots’ drug stores’ lending library. And the people who worked in them.

The Arrivals, Meg Mitchell Moore. LOL funny, about a middle-aged couple whose children (and their various family members) return to the family home and the chaos that ensues.

My Life as a Silent Movie, Jesse Lee Kercheval. About grief. A big move to Paris, finding herself a new life with a new set of real blood family.

Escape, Carolyn Jessop. Another memoir about a woman really in bondage in Utah, Mormon plural marriage.

 

Tasting Spoons

My blog's namesake - small, old and some very dented engraved silver plated tea spoons that belonged to my mother-in-law, and I use them to taste my food as I'm cooking.

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Posted in Salads, Veggies/sides, on August 27th, 2009.

potato romaine saladIt may be a long time since I’d made this – as long as 14 years ago. On the day that our daughter, Dana, was married in our backyard. About 50 people were invited and having a catered lunch was just not in the cards. So I elicited help from family and friends to help with the last-minute food prep to serve a nice lunch buffet. I served a Cornish game hen salad that had been a favorite (still is), and this salad. In this dish we covered salad and carbs all in one.

Once Dana & Todd said their vows, we served shrimp & avocado salsa to keep everyone’s tummies under control. It was a very, very hot September day. My treasured punch bowl broke when we served the punch – I’d placed the bowl on a table outside and it sat in the sun for about 4-5 minutes before I poured the iced punch into the bowl. I heard the crack. And shortly thereafter, all the punch dribbled out the bottom of the bowl, all over the tablecloth and all over the patio. Sigh. I’ve never replaced the punch bowl. Thought about it, but haven’t.

Ideally this dish is made with red-skinned potatoes, but I had some of those new baby potatoes on hand – they’re called “teeny tiny potatoes.” The recipe came from Bon Appétit, way back in 1994. The recipe is available online, and some people who made it thought the dressing was too heavy and oily. Indeed, if you poured all the dressing onto the potatoes it might be – but I never have. I always have dressing left over, so keep that in mind. I’ve added another tablespoon of vinegar to the mix – I like it better myself.

A secret, if there is one, to this recipe is pouring apple cider vinegar over the hot potatoes. As with many absorbent carbs (like beans and potatoes), they benefit from a lot of acid. I have a sensational bean salad that I make that has almost no oil in it – all vinegar. The beans soak up the acid, and somehow the starch in the bean just neutralizes the vinegar. Don’t know how or why that works, but it does. This recipe works much the same way. You can leave the potatoes out at room temp for up to 4 hours, so it’s just a matter of making the Romaine salad part, tossing dressing on the potatoes, spreading them on top of the salad, then sprinkling capers on top.

I had leftovers after serving this, so I removed the Romaine and saved the all-dressed potatoes. The next night I made a more traditional green salad (Romaine, radishes, red cabbage only) and piled the potatoes on top. I also dressed the entire salad with the Dijon dressing too. I liked it better.

You can prepare the dressing up to a day ahead; just bring it to room temp before tossing it on the potatoes. I like this dish because it covers both salad and carbs – all in one. The dressing is a mustard-rich one – you definitely can taste more than a hint of the mustard. If you don’t like mustard, tone it down a bit. This salad can be taken to a picnic. Is great for a hot summer night.
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Potato & Romaine Salad with Creamy Dijon Dressing

Recipe: Bon Appetit, April, 1994
Servings: 6
Note: you can also add red cabbage and radishes to the green salad (use sturdy types) to augment the salad, rather than just Romaine.

3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper — ground
1 1/4 cups olive oil — extra virgin
2 tablespoons whipping cream — chilled
2 tablespoons fresh basil — chopped fine
1 tablespoon fresh parsley — chopped
2 pounds potatoes — red-skinned
5 tablespoons cider vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil — extra virgin
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 head romaine lettuce — coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons capers — drained

1. Dressing: Blend mustard, water, vinegar, salt, pepper in food processor. With machine running, add oil in slow, steady stream. Add cream; blend mixture until thick and creamy. Mix in herbs and pulse briefly. Can be prepared ahead one day. Cover & refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before using, thinning with water if dressing becomes too thick.
2. Salad: Cook potatoes in large pot of boiling water until tender, about 30 minutes. Drain and cool. Peel potatoes and cut into 1/3 inch thick slices. Transfer potatoes to large bowl. Sprinkle with cider vinegar. Can be made 4 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.
3. Whisk oil and vinegar in another large bowl. Add lettuce and toss to coat. Add capers to potatoes. Mix enough dressing into potatoes to coat. Spoon potatoes on top of romaine leaves and serve. You will not need all of the dressing.
Per Serving (assumes you use all the dressing): 643 Calories; 57g Fat (76.9% calories from fat); 6g Protein; 32g Carbohydrate; 5g Dietary Fiber; 7mg Cholesterol; 497mg Sodium.

A year ago: Cornish Game Hen Salad
Two years ago: Sicilian Tuna Salad

Posted in Vegetarian, Veggies/sides, on August 25th, 2009.

If you have tomatoes accumulating at a rapid rate at your house, oh, do I have a recipe for you today. To say this pie is delicious is a gross understatement. It’s not my recipe – it’s Elise’s, over at Simply Recipes. She got it from an acquaintance. And what a winner it is. The words of wisdom here are: sometimes the simplest of recipes are the best. This pie is nothing fancy – it contains onions, lots of tomatoes, fresh basil, cheese, mayo and some hot sauce. All piled into a pie shell in layers. And just so you know:

This recipe contains fat in the pie crust.

This recipe contains cheese (uh, yea, calories and fat)

This recipe contains mayonnaise (3/4 cup for the whole pie).

Other than that, it’s good for you  – nice chunks of tomatoes. (BG).

I’m going to write up a separate post about the pie shell (otherwise this post would be pages and pages long). So here we’ll just talk about the pie itself. I started off with a mixture of tomatoes (red and yellow heirlooms plus a small pile of smaller tomatoes right out of our garden. The heirlooms were very moist – VERY juicy. And that can be the slight undoing of this recipe – you’ve just got to get out as much of the liquid as possible. It’s not that the pie won’t be good, but the bottom shell will be soggy (as mine was). But I have a “fix” for it – next time I’ll add an extra step. More on that later.

Obviously, first you have to make a pie shell. We couldn’t find any refrigerated pie shells in our local stores, so with barely enough time, I made a crust myself. It was a very buttery savory shell. Flaky beyond belief. It was blind baked (about 20 minutes at 350) first. Meanwhile, I started in on the filling.

tomato pie oions First went in the chopped raw red onions. Next time I’d chop them up finer AND I’d cook them a bit. The onions were still crunchy when we ate the tart after 40 minutes of baking.

tomato pie basil

Next went in the chopped tomatoes that I’d drained on paper towels for about 15 minutes, AND I squeezed them to get out even more juice. I used about 3 1/2 cups for my large 9-inch pie plate.

Then I sprinkled in about 1/4 cup of fresh sliced basil leaves from our garden.

tomato pie toppingNext I mixed up an equal quantity (approximately) of shredded Gruyere cheese and mozzarella (not fresh), along with some bottled mayonnaise and a dash of hot sauce. Using my hands I pressed the cheesy clumps all over the top of the pie. I didn’t mash it down or try to make it a solid layer – there were a few holes. But they all disappeared during baking. Bake for 25-40 minutes or so until the top is golden brown.

tomato pie whole

There it is, in all its gloriousness just out of the oven. We took it to our kids’ house and had it with some grilled Italian sausages and a delicious field greens salad topped with more garden-grown sliced tomatoes. The pie sat out for about an hour (uncovered in the trunk of the car for the 30-minute ride) and it was still nice and warm in the middle when it was served soon thereafter. Definitely eat it warm or hot. Next time I make this I’ll add a thin layer of cream cheese over the pastry – to keep the juice from waterlogging the pie shell. And a word of caution: Gruyere is what I used here – it was beyond wonderful – but it’s a very salty cheese, so I might not add any additional salt. Mozzarella can also be very salty too.

The result? Oh gosh. Juicy. Creamy. Cheesy. Flaky. Tomatoey. All over perfection. I’m writing this as we just had a tiny wedge as leftovers. I heated it in the microwave and it was just SO SO good. Can’t wait to have an occasion to make it again – before all the tomatoes are gone for the season.
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Savory Tomato & Gruyere Pie

Recipe: Elise at Simply Recipes
Servings: 8 (maybe more like 6)
NOTES: NEXT TIME-I’ll spread a layer of light cream cheese (very softened) over the bottom and up the sides of the pie crust. It needs to be solid, otherwise the juice will leak through to the flaky pastry. If using Greyere, it’s a very salty cheese, so go very easy on the salt. Also, cook the onions just a little bit first.

1 whole pie shell — 9 inch
1/2 whole yellow or red onion — chopped finely
3 1/2 cups tomatoes — cut in half horizontally, squeezed to remove excess juice, roughly chopped, to yield 3 -4 cups
1/4 cup basil — sliced in thin strips
2 cups grated cheese — (combination of Gruyere and Mozzarella or sharp cheddar and Monterey Jack)
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce — (or more to taste)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Basil leaves for garnish

1 Preheat oven to 350°F. Place pie shell in oven and cook for 8-10 minutes or longer until lightly golden. If you are starting with a frozen crust, you’ll need to cook it a little longer. If you are using a homemade crust, freeze the crust first, then line the crust with aluminum foil and pre-bake it for 20 minutes, then remove the foil and bake an additional 10 minutes.
2 Squeeze as much moisture as you can out of the chopped tomatoes, using either paper towels, a clean dish towel, or a potato ricer. Squeeze gently in your hands, too, to get the last bit of juice out, without pulverizing the tomato flesh in the process.
3 Sprinkle the bottom of the pre-cooked pie shell with chopped onion. Spread the chopped tomatoes over the onions. Sprinkle the sliced basil over the tomatoes.
4 In a medium bowl, mix together the grated cheese, mayonnaise, Tabasco, a sprinkling of salt and freshly ground black pepper. The mixture should be the consistency of a gooey snow ball. Spread the cheese mixture over the tomatoes.
5 Place in oven and bake until browned and bubbly, anywhere from 25 to 45 minutes
Per Serving (and higher if you only serve 6 servings): 388 Calories; 33g Fat (74.2% calories from fat); 10g Protein; 16g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 37mg Cholesterol; 450mg Sodium.

A year ago: Restaurant review of the Posh Peasant in San Clemente
Two years ago: Goat Cheese with Apricot Chutney

Posted in Veggies/sides, on August 13th, 2009.

corn spice rub 1

Would you believe that of all the delicious and different things I served at our dinner the other night, I think nearly everyone raved the most about the corn. Followed closely by the tiramisu. The corn was probably the easiest thing I made for the dinner. I couldn’t get enough of it, both that night and the 2 subsequent nights when we ate the leftovers.

It was some years ago that I read about an herb and spice rub I used on grilled corn on the cob. It is a North African combination. I’ve used it dozens and dozens of times since. But it’s kind of fussy – you have to bend down the leaves, remove the silk, then bring back up the leaves, tie a knot at the top, then grill them.

In this preparation, it’s actually the spices that were used on the Sizzling dry rubbed rib eye steaks. Knowing we like spice-rubbed corn anyway, I didn’t want to mix two different types, so I just made more of the mixture when I prepared it for the steak rub. The prep does include toasting the whole spices to the smoke point. Then those are ground up in a spice grinder (or a mortar and pestle) and added to some other ordinary things like brown sugar, chile powder, dried thyme, dry mustard and freshly grated nutmeg.

The corn – well, how simple can it be? I simmered the corn for about 5 minutes, removed them to a bowl. I let them sit just a couple of minutes so I could handle them. I had a cube of cold butter handy, so I rubbed each ear (cut in half) very lightly with the butter, then sprinkled the spice rub liberally on each. Put them back in the bowl and served them. It took about 4-5 minutes, I suppose, to do that, and it did have to be done at the last minute. The rest of the meal was all ready, so I didn’t mind taking the time. If you’re busy with other things, have someone else do it!

Providing you like plenty of spices, you are going to LOVE this corn. Just remember that once you combine a group of spices together, they will lose their potency in about a month. No, I don’t know why, but it’s a fact. So you can’t make this up in big quantity and keep it for any longer than that. I beg you, try this one.
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Fresh Corn on the Cob with 10 Spice Rub

Recipe: Adapted from a Hugh Carpenter recipe
Servings: 6

6 whole ears of corn on the cob — cut in half, crosswise
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter — chilled
SPICE RUB:
6 whole allspice berries
1 piece cinnamon stick — about 1/2 inch long
1/3 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
1/3 teaspoon coriander seed
2 whole cloves
1 tablespoon chile powder
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar — packed
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

1. In a dry skillet add the allspice berries, cinnamon stick, peppercorns, coriander seeds and cloves. Stir the spice mixture frequently as you heat it. Watch carefully (do not burn) and when the spices JUST begin to smoke, remove the pan and pour spices out onto a plate to cool.
2. Blend the toasted spices in a spice grinder (or mortar and pestle) until it’s finely ground. Pour out into a small bowl and add the other ingredients. Use within a few hours, or place in a small jar. The spices will keep (mixed up) for a month. After that the flavor will fade.
3. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Meanwhile, cut each corn cob in half and drop them into the water. Cover and simmer for about 5 minutes. Remove to a heated bowl, if possible. Allow the corn to cool about 2 minutes until you can handle it.
4. Rub the cold butter lightly on each ear, then sprinkle each with the spice mixture. Serve immediately.
Per Serving: 147 Calories; 5g Fat (27.2% calories from fat); 4g Protein; 28g Carbohydrate; 6g Dietary Fiber; 8mg Cholesterol; 216mg Sodium.

A year ago: Layered Greek Salad
Two years ago: French Hamburgers (actually it’s Julia Child’s recipe – having just seen the movie Julie & Julia the other night – oh, I luved the movie, want to see it again – anyway, this is so appropos – the recipe comes from her first volume, Mastering the Art of French Cooking but it called Boeuf Hache a la Lyonnaise . . .)

Posted in Salads, Veggies/sides, on August 11th, 2009.

layered salad peppers

When I saw the photo in Cooking Light for this salad, I figured I’d have to make it sometime. It was perfect for our outdoor dinner party the other night. I could make it ahead (at least 24 or up to 48 hours even), it provided a bit of carbohydrate for the meal, it was tangy with fresh lemon juice from the fruit of our Meyer lemon trees, and last but not least, it had lots of fresh veggies in it. With only two tablespoons of oil in the entire dish.

I set up my little photo studio as I made it. As if you didn’t already know how to layer things. But here goes. First I started with my tall glass trifle dish. I’ve served a green salad in it before, but it’s just perfect for this layered salad. The recipe said it served 8 – we were having 6 – so with some of the vegetables I used slightly less. It would depend on the bowl you used, too.

layered salad bulgar

First went in the dry bulgur wheat. Just poured it in there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

layered salad dressing

The dressing was mixed up – 3/4 cup of fresh lemon juice, the 2 T. of olive oil, some fresh garlic and salt. I poured it in and stirred it briefly to make sure all the bulgur was in contact with the dressing.

 

 

 

 

 

layered salad onions

The layer of onions was next. The recipe called for red onions, but I didn’t have any. However, I did have some Washington sweet onions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

layered salad tomatoes

Then I chopped up about $6.00 worth of heirloom tomatoes. It made two cups of chopped tomatoes. Almost hated to use them for this since I wasn’t sure the superior flavor would shine through. But it’s what I had on hand.

 

 

 

 

 

layered salad herbs

I cut some fresh mint from our garden, added some fresh Italian parsley and some fresh dill. Chopped it up finely, mixed it together with my hands, and sprinkled that on top of the tomatoes.

 

 

 

 

 

layered salad cukes

Next went a generous layer of cucumbers. I used the hothouse type and left the dark-green skin intact. That was spread around a bit to fill in the outer edges.

 

 

 

 

 

 

layered salad peppers small

Lastly, a mixture of red and yellow bell peppers was added. The top was sprinkled with some kosher salt and freshly grated black pepper.

Then I sealed it tight with plastic wrap and refrigerated it for 24 hours.

Just tell your guests to dip down deep, so they get some of the bulgur at the bottom. Once the first person dips in, the salad loses some of its form, but that’s okay. You need to put the bulgur on the bottom, because it needs to absorb all that lemon dressing.

What I love about this kind of salad is the tang from the lemon juice. I have a favorite Syrian salad I make every summer that has crushed up toasted pita bread in it. (Joanne – thanks again for that great recipe – she shared it at an office potluck many years back – and now lives in Switzerland ) I just adore that salad. This is reminiscent of it, except it has the bulgur as the carb. If you have extra room at the top of your bowl, just before serving, chop up some lettuces and pile that in. The dressing will spread around once you dish this up so the lettuce would have some tang. Or, toss the salad with a bit of lemony dressing, then scoop it on top. I’ll make this again – particularly because I can make it the day before.
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Lebanese Layered Salad

Recipe: Cooking Light
Servings: 8

1 cup uncooked medium bulgar
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic — minced
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups red onions — finely chopped
5 cups tomatoes
1/2 cup fresh parsley — chopped
1/2 cup fresh mint — chopped
1/4 cup fresh dill — chopped
2 cups hothouse cucumber — chopped
1 cup red pepper — chopped
salt and black pepper for garnish
1. Place bulgar in a large bowl.
2. Combine juice, oil, salt, and garlic in a small bowl, stir well. Drizzle juice mixture over bulgar. Layer onions, tomato, parsley, mint and dill.
3. Add cucumbers and bell peppers. Sprinkle with additional salt and black pepper. Cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate overnight – at least 24 hours or up to 48 hours before serving.
Per Serving: 149 Calories; 4g Fat (22.8% calories from fat); 5g Protein; 27g Carbohydrate; 7g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 286mg Sodium.

A year ago: Zucchini (everything you always wanted to know)
Two years ago: Baked Fennel

Posted in Veggies/sides, on July 31st, 2009.

cauliflower mash 1

Most people probably think cauliflower only cooks up – basically – one way: steamed. Bland. Blah. But if you’ve been reading my blog for awhile you know that I really discovered cauliflower (and its myriad of preparations) a couple of years ago. I was thrilled to find that I really LIKE cauliflower. A lot. Now you’ll have another way to make it with this recipe.

We’d invited a friend over for dinner. After Donna arrived, I asked her: “do you like cauliflower?” She said: “Uhm. I’m not sure.” Uh-oh I thought. It was too late. The cauliflower was already in the oven roasting at 500. Too late to find another side dish for dinner! Fortunately, she discovered she likes it this way for sure. Whether she’d ever make it, I don’t know. We liked it a lot, though. And it’s low-fat too.

The recipe came from a Cooking Light issue. I followed it fairly closely, although I don’t believe I used as much milk as the recipe indicated. And the cauliflower wasn’t as “mashed” as I’d expected. We found the cauliflower still a bit too firm to make the mash. So, the baking time may need to be lengthened just a tad. I also added a bit more olive oil on the florets before baking, but I used less butter at the end. So, I’m giving you my proportions.

spring onions 1

Shopping at a local ethnic grocery store I found some really nice spring onions. The kind that have a more bulb-like onion at the base. Like baby onions almost. I really like their flavor. Those went into these. Plus ample garlic that is tossed with the cauliflower during the roasting process. Then you add just ordinary stuff: milk, butter, salt and pepper. Simple, huh?

You can make this up ahead and just reheat in the microwave if you’d like. Be sure to taste it just before serving to make sure you’ve got the right balance of salt and pepper. It took more salt than I expected.
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Cauliflower & Green Onion Mash

Recipe: Adapted a bit from a Cooking Light magazine recipe.
Servings: 8

3 pounds fresh cauliflower — cut in florets
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
3 whole garlic cloves — sliced
1 cup green onions — chopped
2/3 cup 2% low-fat milk — (may need more)
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 500. Yes, 500.
2. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil (or Silpat). Toss the cauliflower florets and garlic slices with olive oil to coat. Bake for about 20-25 minutes, until the cauliflower is browned in places and is just barely tender.
3. Place cauliflower in a large bowl (flatter the better) and with a potato masher, mash the cauliflower until it’s a texture you prefer. Add the green onions, milk, butter, salt and pepper. Add more milk if necessary. Taste for seasonings. Can be prepared fully and reheated in the microwave just before serving.
Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 50 Calories; 4g Fat (74.9% calories from fat); 1g Protein; 2g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 7mg Cholesterol; 13mg Sodium.

Other cauliflower recipes on my blog: Tandoori-Style Cauliflower, Cauliflower with Bacon & Mushrooms, Kalyn’s Twice-Baked Cauliflower, Twice Baked Cauliflower Take 2, Cauliflower Soup with Seared Scallops, and lastly A Bowl of White

A  year ago: Earthquake (we had one in our area that day)
Two years ago: Marinated Brussels Sprouts (a favorite of mine)

Posted in Veggies/sides, on July 29th, 2009.

taylors squash 2

Our 11-year old granddaughter Taylor, who was visiting recently, has become quite the green thumb. She’s growing lots of things in her home garden, including these squash above. Home grown yellow crookneck sometimes get oodles of knobs on them. Funny looking, but they disappear in the cooking. Yellow squash is probably my favorite in the squash family. I like zucchini, but the yellow squash is somehow more tender, more delicate maybe? I can’t exactly say why I like them better, or what’s different about the taste.

squash mixed

This recipe, I’m almost embarrassed to say, is so simple I hardly could CALL it a recipe. It’s how my mother used to make squash. We had it often. I’ve made a couple of little changes over the years (adding thyme and olive oil). The secret, if you could call it that, is merely in cutting the squashes into relatively small pieces, and adding the thyme. I also add just a little smear of butter before serving it. And I give the squash a goodly jolt of pepper and a light sprinkle of salt. It’s so easy.
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Simple Summer Squash

Servings: 4

2 pounds summer squash — yellow and zucchini both
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon dried thyme — crushed
2 teaspoons unsalted butter
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1. Chop or dice the squash into small pieces – the smaller the better (about 1/4 to 1/2 inch).
2. In a medium skillet (with a lid) heat the olive oil and add the chopped squash. Stir to combine. After about 2 minutes add the water and crushed thyme, cover and simmer over low heat for about 5 minutes. Stir a couple of times and continue cooking (covered) until it’s done to your liking, about 2-5 minutes.
3. Add butter and salt and pepper. Serve piping hot.
Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 81 Calories; 5g Fat (46.1% calories from fat); 3g Protein; 10g Carbohydrate; 4g Dietary Fiber; 5mg Cholesterol; 5mg Sodium.

Two years ago: Meatloaf with Sweet & Sour Sauce (a family favorite)

Posted in Salads, Veggies/sides, on July 20th, 2009.

IMG_0503 1. Thick slices of heirloom tomatoes.

2. Thick slices of fresh mozzarella burratta on top of the tomatoes

3. Freshly picked basil right out of the garden

4. Drizzles of Spanish extra virgin olive oil

5. Little drizzles of strawberry balsamic vinegar

6. Oops, forgot the grind of salt and pepper. Didn’t miss it, did we?

IMG_0506

Posted in Salads, Veggies/sides, on July 16th, 2009.

IMG_0495

Since I was just talking about corn yesterday, this seems like a perfectly appropriate time to share a corn salad recipe. There must be as many variations for such as shells in the sea. This one is on the sweet side (sugar – or Splenda – in the dressing) and it’s marinated for a minimum of 8 hours.

When we visited our friends at Cardwell Hill (the winery in Oregon) a few days ago, Nancy served this salad for our late lunch. It was SO good, I asked her for the recipe. It popped into my email inbox yesterday.

peppadew peppers The recipe calls for canned corn (shoe peg actually, but my DH did the shopping and he couldn’t find any shoe peg white corn) so this is just ordinary canned corn. You could easily use fresh corn too. Instead of pimientos, I used peppadew peppers. There’s a picture (left) of the jar, one whole pepper, and several of them minced up. I’ve talked about peppadew peppers before – they’re favorites of mine and are grown in South Africa. Some olive bars at upscale markets have them. They’re sweet and tart at the same time.

I didn’t have any green bell pepper (could have used some red, yellow or orange just as easily).

Because I try to reduce sugar anywhere I can, I used less than the original recipe called for – and I used Splenda – so if you think it tastes too vinegar-y, by all means add more sweetener. It’s really tasty – can be made up ahead – and likely will keep for several days. The dressing can also be used again, so don’t throw it out – just add different veggies to it for a 2nd rendition.

So thanks, Nancy, for this great recipe.
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Corn & Black Bean Salad

Recipe: Adapted from my friend Nancy Chapel of Cardwell Hill Winery
Servings: 8
NOTES: You could use fresh corn, but one of the nice things about this salad is that if you have the cans on hand, it can be made any time of year.

DRESSING:
1/2 cup sugar — or Splenda [I used less]
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
SALAD:
11 ounces white shoepeg corn — drained
11 ounces black beans — drained, rinsed
4 ounces pimiento — or Peppadew peppers if available
1 large green bell pepper — or red pepper
1 large onion — chopped
1 cup celery — sliced

1. DRESSING: In a food processor combine all ingredients except the oil. Turn on processor and add oil in a steady stream until emulsified. Refrigerate.
2. SALAD: In a large ziploc bag combine the salad ingredients with the dressing and refrigerate for about 8 hours (or up to 24), if possible to let flavors develop. Drain salad before serving.
Serving Ideas: The salad dressing can be reused – i.e., add more cans of corn and black beans (or corn and other kinds of beans, even green beans) to make the dressing.
Per Serving: 319 Calories; 15g Fat (39.4% calories from fat); 10g Protein; 40g Carbohydrate; 7g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 232mg Sodium.

A year ago: Flank Steak with Orange Marinade
Two years ago: The BEST Bean Salad (a family favorite, low calorie, but you’d never guess it)

Posted in Veggies/sides, on July 16th, 2009.

fresh white corn

We’re home from our trip. I’m definitely not back into the cooking groove yet. Have been to two grocery stores to stock up on essentials, but what we’re both craving is more simple foods. I baked a chicken for dinner our first night home and had it along with a panful of button mushrooms sauteed in butter with some fresh thyme. And some tomatoes from our own bushes with some fresh mozzarella cheese. Last night’s dinner was more of the same. Except that I’d purchased some fresh white corn, so we had some of that too. It’s so good to be home.

Probably some of you know far more about corn than I do. But fresh corn-on-the-cob is at all the farmstands these days – the delish white sweet corn. So I thought I’d post something from my go-to book on fruits and vegetables, Russ Parsons’ tome How to Pick a Peach. He also has another book under his belt (that I don’t own) called How to Read a French Fry. So, synopsized from the Peach book is all you’ve ever wanted to know about corn, from the consumer’s point of view.

It used to be that fresh corn on the cob, once it was pulled from the plant, started to go to starch right away. The sugar in the corn converted to starch very fast. But genetics being what they are these days, the researchers were very busy for several decades nnow developing strains of corn that overcame many of those early types. These newer and more improved varieties are almost all you can buy nowdays. Some people (Parsons included) aren’t altogether sure it’s been for the best as they believe there is a lot more to corn flavor than just the sweetness.

Corn is a grain, of course, which is why it’s a carb rather than a vegetable. We eat corn in an immature state – grown to maturity, corn is as hard a wheat kernels. Much of the corn grown is such (and used for many industrial applications like sweeteners, textiles and automotive fuels). The corn WE eat is picked within a month of pollination.

The oldest “improved” variety of corn is referred to by its shorthand – SU – for sugary. Actually mentioned in seed journals as early as the 1820s. Farmers merely selected seed from the plants that produced the sweetest eating corn. But it still had the problem of converting to starch, losing 2/3 of its sugar within 24 hours, even if refrigerated.

The next variety was SE – for sugar-enhanced. It actually starts converting sugar to starch right away, but because the corn variety was sweeter than most, it could take up to a week before the sweetness level fell down to the level of normal corn.

Then we get to what Parsons refers to as the King Kong of corn. Called SH2 because of the way the kernels shrivel and appear shrunken after drying. They contain 30-45% more sugar than traditional corn. Only trouble is these seeds are very expensive, so most farmers won’t buy it and consumers don’t want to pay the price.  Instead, farmers allowed the normal kind of evolution of breeding seeds from the tallest and sweetest producing seeds. A kind of natural mutation I guess you could say.

According to the article the flavor is basically the same from white, yellow or bicolor corn. (Could have fooled me, I’m a convert to white sweet corn which is the first corn available here in Southern California.) The farmers have done all kinds of genetics to the SH2 with adding good corn flavor from the SE and SU.  Now I’ve never seen “Silver Queen” corn. It must not be grown where I live. But per the chapter on corn, lots of people claim it’s the Cadillac of corn, but in blind taste tests consumers prefer the new SE and SH2 varieties, and that if farmers claim they’re selling Silver Queens, they’re likely not.

Where they’re grown: More than half the U.S. production comes from Florida, California and New York.

Choosing: Husks should be fresh and green, no drying. Silk golden and fresh. Check the corn tips – kernels should be well filled-out and evenly spaced. Pop a kernel with your thumbnail – it should spurt milky juice. (Just don’t let the produce dept. catch you doing that!)

Storing: refrigerate whole (husked, etc.) and eat as soon as possible.

Preparing: Shuck and cook corn just before serving. [I’ve found that using a paper towel helps a lot to get the silk off the cobs.] To Grill: soak whole, unhusked cobs in water for 20+ minutes, then pop on the grill. Grill over hot fire until they are a dark yellow and well marked by the grill, about 25-30 minutes. Don’t worry if the husks start to char; that just adds to the smoky flavor. The silk is much easier to remove after grilling.

Russ Parsons’ recipes in the book: Fresh Corn Blini with Crema Fresca; Grilled Corn and Arugula Salad; and Shrimp and Sweet Corn “Risotto.”

– – – – –

Recipes here on my blog where corn plays a starring role:

North African Grilled Corn on the Cob
Gulliver’s Creamed Corn
Sweet Corn Cakes
Southwest Squash & Corn
Calabacitas (a southwest staple vegetable mixture)
Custard-Filled Cornbread

Posted in Veggies/sides, on June 18th, 2009.

noonday onions

DISCLAIMER: I don’t sell Noonday onions – they were a gift to me in 2009 from a good friend whose family lives in East Texas. If you want to buy some, my only suggestion is to go to this link: East Texas Grower’s Association. It’s their website including contact information with oodles of names and phone numbers. Perhaps one of them will be able to help. My friend’s relatives go to the farmer’s market in Noonday to buy them each year.

My friend Joan (of the Joan’s Pasta Salad on my blog, and the Baked Fennel with Parmesan) emailed me to ask if I’d like to have some Noonday Onions. Whah? Noon-what onions? Had never heard of them. If you’re a Texan, then nothing will do but Noonday (sweet) onions. And according to our friends, nothing holds a candle to Texas sweet onions (not Vidalia, nor any).

Joan’s in-laws, Tom & Dorothy, ship a big bag of Noonday Onions to each of their grown children every year around about June 1st. That’s high season for Noondays, you see. Now, Noonday is a SMALL town. Population 515 per the census in 2000, so I read online. Just in case you don’t know where Noonday is, like I didn’t, I had to look it up. Figured you’d want to be educated about it too. It’s halfway between Dallas and Shreveport, LA.

Joan’s in-laws live in Longview, an hour or so NE of Noonday. Joan’s husband Tom grew up in Longview. Over the years of knowing them, we’d heard stories about the famous barbecue in Longview. Never heard anything about the sweet onions. But about barbecue. From Bodacious. So one summer when Tom & Joan were flying home from a week’s visit to Longview (the family has an annual reunion every 4th of July week, with everyone attending including children and grandchildren), Joan phoned me and asked if I’d like them to bring a brisket from their favorite ‘cue place – on the plane – carefully wrapped in a cold pack. Who could say no to that, I ask you? We were having a big summer dinner at our house that very evening, and Tom & Joan landed in So. California just in time to change clothes and bring the barbecue brisket to share with all of our guests. What a huge treat that was. We had another barbecue dinner a couple weeks later and I actually phoned the “famous” Bodacious Barbecue in Longview and had another two briskets shipped by air so I could serve it again. I’ll vouch for Texas ‘cue, hands down. Good stuff. Texans take their ‘cue seriously, and Bodacious has been delivering (aka making) serious ‘cue for decades.

But, I got sidetracked there. Back to onions. I do know a bit more about East Texas than I did before. And I know that Noonday is a town that produces serious sweet onions. Just like Vidalia, and wine cuvees, you have to grow the sweet onions within 10 miles of Noonday’s city hall in order to qualify as Noonday onions. The reason Noondays are so good is because the soil composition is identical to the soil where Vidalias are grown in Georgia. If you’re interested, there’s a list of Noonday onion growers. If you don’t have your own private courier service like I did, there are phone numbers to call. Now is the season.

On to recipes. I was tickled to find out that Joan has been making my Baked Onions with (Red Wine and) Thyme for years. And that she uses Noonday onions to make them. She and Tom enjoy them so much that some years ago Joan sent my recipe to all of her sisters-in-law as a way to use the huge bag of sweet onions.

So I’m happy to provide the family with another good onion recipe for sweet onions. One that I hadn’t made in many years. A recipe given to me by a good friend, Ann H. from Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Ann made these one time, years ago when they lived here in California, with sweet onions, when they kind of first came onto the onion-scene. Probably in the late 1980’s. These are rich (they do have 1/4 cup of cream added at the end), but the star of this dish is the Madeira.

Here’s a travel story . . . I’ve actually been to Madeira. Years ago. It’s a long way from anywhere – off the northwest coast of Africa, but it’s part of Portugal. A friend and I took a trip there, and since I was planning the trip mostly, I thought hey, we’re all the way over here, I’ve always wanted to GO to Madeira. Here’s my chance. Well, let me tell you – those of you who have been there will identify with me here – flying into Madeira is sheer terror. They cut short a runway out of the side of the mountain (Madeira is nothing BUT mountains, short but steep), and approaching by air you think you’re going to crash. You know you’re going to crash in the water or into the mountainside. And suddenly there’s a runway under the plane. A short runway. Yikes.

There isn’t a whole lot to DO on Madeira, really. Roads are treacherously curvy, with no big towns particularly. But the island produces Madeira for the world. My friend and I went on a couple of Madeira tours (wine type), so we learned all about the process and the different types – there are several, but mostly we only know the rather sweet fortified wine. But I did learn to tell the difference, and usually when I buy Madeira I buy good stuff, Bual. 15-year old Bual if I can afford it. It’s worth it. A bottle lasts years and years for me since I don’t drink it often. This dish has a few dashes of Madeira. Don’t buy anything but real Madeira from Madeira, okay? You can’t substitute sherry, really. You probably could substitute port, but only if you use a medium-sweet port, not the extra sweet. I buy good port too because I also learned the difference in that wine also. But that’s a story for another day.

madeira onion ingred
Ingredients: sweet onions, butter, Madeira, heavy cream and some parsley

madeira onionIt’s time for the recipe. Get yourself some sweet onions (just don’t tell any Texans that you used Vidalia or Walla Walla Sweets, okay?) and try this luscious onion dish. Not having had these for some years, my hubby said – oh my, these are to die for. Does that give you a clue as to their good-ness?
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Madeira Onions

Recipe: From my friend Ann H, from Coeur d’Alene, Idaho
Servings: 6
NOTES: When my friend Ann made these, she left the onion slices nestled together, holding their shape. She cooked them in-position all the way through. She was very careful with them, even through the caramelizing process, to not dislodge the solid rings. Then she served them on a plate just that way. Made a beautiful presentation.

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 large sweet onions — peeled, sliced
1/2 cup Madeira
Salt & pepper to taste
1/4 cup heavy cream — or half and half
1/4 cup fresh parsley — finely minced

1. In a large skillet (with a lid) heat the butter until it’s starting to sizzle. Add onions. Cover, reduce heat and cook over low heat for about 25 minutes, until onions are cooked through.
2. Uncover pan and stir in the Madeira and salt and pepper. Cook under medium-low heat until the wine has evaporated, then continue to cook until the onions have begun to caramelize.
3. Add the cream and parsley and stir to combine. Heat through and serve hot.
Serving Ideas : These go well with a simple grilled meat. Don’t serve this with anything that competes with the subtle onion flavor – you want it to shine through.
Per Serving: 151 Calories; 11g Fat (75.9% calories from fat); 1g Protein; 7g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 34mg Cholesterol; 9mg Sodium.
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A year ago: Pork Tenderloin with Mango Sambal
Two years ago: Mister Charlie (a delish ground beef casserole)

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