all good summer things

I have been criminally lax about updating this blog, especially for the summertime!  In my defense, I've had a full course load this summer, but I have a few weeks between summer classes and fall classes to try and be productive.  I am going to really make an effort to update things this fall, if for no other reason than to feel like I'm doing something.

Anyway, I thought it was about time I posted a recipe.  We made this a few weeks back with one of the first summer tomatoes (from the farmer's market--we killed our tomato plant).  We also happened to have an abundance of blue cheese leftover from another meal.  We always have basil (out back), crusty bread, and our old standby, Sashay Acres bacon, on hand.  A meal was born.

Actually, we ate this as an appetizer, but it would be more than enough as an entree.  I only stacked our salads a few tomato slices high, but next time I'd go even lower--one or two slices only--for easier eating.  Next time I also think I'll splurge on the fancy French gray shallots at the farmer's market for more intense shallot flavor in the dressing.

Heirloom Tomato Salad with Bacon, Blue Cheese, and Basil
very slightly adapted from Gourmet via Epicurious
serves 2 (easily multiplied)

2 slices crusty white bread, like sourdough
4 slices bacon (depending on how porky you like your veggies)
olive oil (if needed)
1/4 c finely chopped shallot
3 tbsp Sherry vinegar
2-3 assorted medium heirloom tomatoes, cut 1/4- to 1/3-inch thick
15 small fresh basil leaves
1 1/2 oz blue cheese, at room temperature, crumbled

Cook bacon in (cast iron, preferably) pan until crisp, and remove to paper towels.  Leave bacon drippings in pan.

In the same pan, toast bread on both sides in bacon drippings over medium heat.  If you don't like your bread bacon-y, pour off drippings into a heatproof bowl and reserve.  Heat about a tablespoon of olive oil in the same pan and toast bread.

Using remaining bacon drippings (pour them back in the pan if you poured them off), plus a couple tablespoons olive oil if the pan is getting dry, cook shallots over medium heat, stirring, until softened, about 2 minutes.  Add vinegar and simmer, whisking, until emulsified, about 1 minute.  Season dressing with salt and pepper and keep warm.

Crumble bacon.  Arrange bread on plates and divide tomato slices among them, stacking slices and sprinkling some basil and bacon between slices. Sprinkle cheese and remaining basil and bacon over and around tomatoes. Spoon some of warm bacon dressing over and around tomatoes and season with salt and pepper.

summer at home 2

It seems I've taken quite a break from blogging! The summer has just flown by. Now we're entering the beginning of both the school year and the best time of the year food-wise. The farmer's market has finally broken out of its strictly green phase and now features melons, squashes, and sweet red peppers. Our CSA boxes are bigger now so I'm enjoying the slight panic I experience when I see four large patty-pan squashes come out of the box. Yes, enjoying. How else would I find out that chocolate zucchini cake turns out fine with patty-pan? And if I had used up my zucchini on cake, how would I have made a deliciously creamy zucchini basil soup? Ah, conundrums I'm happy to encounter.

I'm going to unload a few of my summer recipes, lazy style, before summer produce is gone like my lazy summer.

caprese frittata
with green tea in my Japanese house mug

roasted potatoes with sage and bacon, revisited

Sichuan-style braised eggplant

grilled tomatoes stuffed with goat cheese and sage

summer succotash with bacon & croutons
(steamed green & wax beans replacing lima and cranberry beans)

what's been cooking

Matt and I are heading to Tokyo on Saturday. That means the next several blog posts will be about Japanese food, hopefully while we're still over there. Before we go, I want to clear out my stash of recently-cooked meals, especially before all the spring/early summer ingredients are gone. The following are all recommended recipes--some have a link to a recipe and some just have the ingredients listed. Enjoy!

strawberry chicken club sandwich

potato frittata with bacon

burger with horseradish havarti, bacon, caramelized onions, mayo, and greens on pretzel roll

asparagus panzanella

grilled chicken fajitas

mixed green salad with strawberries, grilled chicken, avocado, spring onions, and Bolthouse Farms mango vinaigrette

three-cup chicken with green beans (no photo)

this was really good

asparagus tofu stir-fry (on my cupcake-aproned lap)

Last week we used asparagus and spring onions from our first CSA box of the season to make a tofu-based stir-fry. I took some liberties with the recipe, including leaving out the spinach, basil, and mint (I didn't have spinach or basil and Matt doesn't like mint). I used more garlic than it called for, which was not a mistake.

I also opted for Wildwood brand super-firm tofu instead of the suggested extra-firm. My philosophy when stir-frying tofu is this--the firmer the better. I've had extra-firm tofu fall apart and turn to scrambled-egg texture too many times. Maybe I'm just not gentle enough, but I am a total convert to this Wildwood stuff. It has that lovely firmness that I usually attribute to restaurant tofu.

Do take the recipe's advice to have all your ingredients prepped ahead. This dish fries up quite quickly. Do include the lime zest and juice. It added a nice bit of sweetness and tang.


Asparagus Stir-Fry
adapted from 101 Cookbooks (printable version available through link)

toasted sesame oil
8 oz super firm tofu, cut into strips the width of a pencil
4 green onions, thinly sliced
scant 1 tbsp grated ginger
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 lb or bunch asparagus, trimmed and sliced into 1-inch chunks
a couple big pinches fine-grain sea salt
3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 big handful cashews, chopped up a bit
a few handfuls of spinach or other greens, optional
zest and juice of one lime
2 tbsp hoisin sauce
1 small handful each slivered mint and/or basil, optional

Have all your ingredients prepped and within arms reach of the stove. Heat a splash of sesame oil in a large pan, or well-seasoned wok over medium high heat. Alternately, you can do this in a dry non-stick pan - one of the few occasions I still use non-stick. When it is hot, add the tofu, and cook until golden - a few minutes. Remove the tofu from the pan and set aside.

Add another (generous) splash of oil to the pan and, as soon as it is hot, add the onions, ginger, red pepper flakes, asparagus, and salt. Stir fry for about a minute, then add the garlic, cashews, and spinach and stir-fry for another minute, or until the spinach wilts. Return the tofu to the pan. Stir in the lime zest and juice and the hoisin sauce. Cook for another 10-20 seconds, stirring all the while.

Remove from heat and stir in the mint and basil if using. Taste and add a bit more salt if needed.

butternut squash curry with cashews

In an attempt to use the myriad of squashes we've accumulated from our CSA, I made this curried squash (for myself only: Matt wouldn't touch the stuff). It was not nearly spicy enough for me, perhaps because I used whatever mild curry paste I had in the fridge. However, it did turn out quite well when I added a generous forkful of Asian chili garlic paste. Very rich and filling for chilly evenings.

By the way, our CSA has come to an end for this year, bringing with it feelings of sadness but also of relief. The task of keeping up with the produce was a bit daunting. Will I be ready to dive in again next June? Most likely, yes.

simple fall meal

It seems as if I'll only have two posts this month. Both my teaching and my graduate class have kept me extremely busy as of late. There are days when I don't even get my email checked. But I will make an effort to post more often in the coming month.

Goat Cheese Pizzas with Indian-Spiced Tomatoes and Mustard Greens

Anyway, I recently made these pizzas for our dinner. The Indian-style seasonings were quite subdued (explaining why Matt would actually eat something with the descriptor "Indian" proceeding its name). The sauce was flavorful and hearty and the goat cheese the perfect creamy complement. Think of a play on your traditional margherita-style pizza. Most importantly, it was a creative way to use up the mustard greens from our CSA box (only one more week left--sad!).

The one change that I made to this recipe was to use a store-bought pita instead of making my own flatbreads. If you are willing to make take on the task of making flatbread, you have my respect! I recommend brushing the bottom of the pita with a bit of olive oil before topping and baking it. This gives the crust a nice crisp. Enjoy with a salad!

wisconsin tomatoes

We've been getting beautiful tomatoes from the farmer's market, the local co-op, and our CSA box. That means almost every meal uses tomatoes--I have to take advantage while they're available! By the way, you can freeze a whole tomato in a freezer bag. When you're ready to use a tomato in a sauce or pasta in the winter, just run the tomato under warm water until the skin slips off and chop it up. Oh, and it's not a bad idea to core the tomato before freezing.

caprese salad

Anyway, here's one of the meals I made with CSA tomatoes--a simple caprese salad. I snagged the recipe from Giada De Laurentis, but used balsamic vinegar in place of the lemon juice (we've had a lot of lemony dishes lately and needed a change). The fresh tomatoes grown nearby and ripened on the vine really make the salad. The basil was also from our CSA farm and the fresh mozzarella is made in southern Wisconsin as well. There will be more tomato recipes coming in the following days.

Edit: When you follow the link, you'll see a platter filled with tomatoes of all sizes and large slices of mozzarella. Since I only had grape tomatoes, I used those and tossed them with cherry-sized fresh mozzarella balls that I halved. In a nutshell, use whatever tomatoes you have available.

august

All of a sudden the backyard and the CSA box have gone from mostly green to vibrantly colorful and rich. A white lily even popped up out of a flower bed like a weed.

arugula and strawberries

Tonight's dinner was a grilled chicken sandwich with roasted red peppers and arugula mayo on roasted garlic bread. Next time I think I'll include bacon too. The mayo would also be great on a veggie sandwich, with grilled zucchini, eggplant, and/or red onion.

I also made some oven fries, attempting to recreate the flavors in the amazing truffle fries at Dempsey's in Lawrence, Kansas. I sprayed the fries with some truffle oil (thanks, Mom!) and then tossed them in grated Parmesan and parsley.

grilled chicken sandwich with red peppers and arugula mayo
truffle and Parmesan oven fries

If you're looking for a way to use up a pile of arugula like we are (or even if you're not), check out the recipe for the mayo:

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup (packed) coarsely chopped arugula leaves
1 tablespoon minced shallot
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel
from Epicurious.com

For dessert, we had one of my new favorite baked goods. Since it's strawberry season, I made these banana shortbread cookies to eat along with the fresh, local berries. The recipe is from Simply Organic: A Cookbook for Sustainable, Seasonal, and Local Ingredients.

banana shortbread cookie with ice cream and strawberries

spring vegetables

We've gotten our second CSA box and I'm really enjoying cooking with the fresh, local ingredients. Here are a couple of meals I've made this week:

This sandwich is one way we've taken advantage of asparagus season. The lemon aioli is very tasty.

California asparagus sandwich with roasted red peppers

Tonight we made a creamy potato soup that used up most of our many young onions. Also, we have quite a bit of spinach that we used to make our salad.

hot bacon spinach salad & scallion potato corn soup

It's been wonderful to use these veggies knowing what ground they've grown in, and that our money funded their growth directly. I like taking the middle man out of my food purchasing.

first csa meal

This week Matt and I picked up our first box of vegetables from our CSA (community-supported agriculture) share with Amazing Grace Farm. We got spinach, arugula, pok choi, radishes, asparagus, and baby onions. Here's the first meal I've made with the fresh ingredients.

asparagus pasta carbonara with salad of greens

Also, check out this great recipe for chicken satay stir fry with orange-scented jasmine rice. Be warned, there is a ton of peanut butter in the sauce. I cut the amount down to 2 tablespoons and it turned out great.