"Light My Fire" orange roughy

OH!!!!  I've been so busy lately!  I just got invited to be a contributor to an online magazine called Examiner.com.  My title is Fort Wayne Cooking Examiner and I am suppose to write articles about food and cooking that have a local angle.  For my first article, I featured my friend, David Rezits, and his cookbook, Culinary Harmony.  You can read the article  here.   In the article, I share a recipe from the book called "Light My Fire" orange roughy.  I first tried this recipe years and years ago when I was doing recipe editing and testing for the cookbook.  But I decided to make it again tonight.  It can be a little bit challenging to find orange roughy in Fort Wayne, but I found some at Fresh Market and ohhhh! the dish turned out so delicious!

If you want to try the dish, click on the link above and scroll through the article.  I have the recipe printed there.  Yesterday, I made 17 cents as a result of people viewing and reading my article.  If everyone reading my blog visits the site, maybe I can double my pay for toady!!!

Totally Vegan

When it comes to preparing delicious and creative vegetarian dishes, Indians are the world-class champions, hands down!  O.K.  So that's just my opinion.  But seriously, who else would ever come up with the idea to pulverize dried legumes with spices and warm water, let it ferment and then use the batter to make lacy, thin pancakes stuffed with spicy potatoes?  Who would think to "temper" spices and seeds in hot oil and then stir them into dals and curries just before serving?  Or, who else would think to make kafta ("meatballs") out of grated vegetables and chickpea flour and then simmer them in an aromatic sauce made with fresh tomatoes and ground nuts?  Thank God for the Indians!!!

I would LOVE to become an expert at preparing Indian food, especially vegetarian dishes such as spicy sambars and stuffed breads and fiery hot vegetable curries.  When I lived in India, I spent almost every morning sitting in the kitchen with Krishnabay, watching and helping as she prepared food for the mid-day meal.  She could expertly roll out chapatis, one right after the other, while simultaneously chopping vegetables for curry, pounding ginger/garlic paste, cleaning meat, grinding spices, AND tending to her infant daughter.  All at the same time!  She was amazing!!!

I have a couple of excellent cookbooks on Indian vegetarian dishes.  One by Julie Sahni, and the other by Yamuna Devi.    The other day I pulled them out and chose a couple of dishes to try.  I made squash kaftas in spicy tomato sauce, and spicy bell peppers and eggplant.  I over-salted the eggplant dish (my bad!) but the zucchini balls were amazing!!!!

 

The recipe for the zucchini balls comes from Julie Sahni's cookbook, Classic Indian Vegetarian and Grain Cooking.  The tomato sauce is made with fresh tomatoes, and since I got my first batch of juicy, summer tomatoes from Country Gardens Monday, I decided to use them to make the sauce and give this recipe a try.  If you are feeling the least bit adventurous, you should try it too!  Again, this is sort of a lengthy process, but very simple.  First, make the sauce because it needs to spend some time sitting.  Overnight is best, but I was in too much of a hurry and only let mine sit for a few hours!

In a blender or food processor, blend together
   4 medium-size tomatoes, quartered
   6 hot green chilies
   1 1/2 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled

Over medium-high heat, heat 5 T peanut oil.  When the oil is hot, stir in
   2 t ground cumin
   1/2 t turmeric
   2 T ground almonds
   2 t paprika
   2 t garam masala

Add in the tomato sauce and bring to a boil.  Lower the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.  Let the sauce cool and then set it aside for several hours or overnight in the refrigerator.

For the Spicy Yellow Squash Kafta, mix together:
   2 pounds yellow summer squash or zucchini, grated
   1 medium-size onion, grated
   3/4 cup chickpea flour 
   1 T ground coriander
   1/4 t red pepper
   2 - 4 hot green chilies, finely chopped
   1/4 cup chopped cilantro
   1/4 t baking powder
   salt to taste

Heat enough oil to give you about 2 - 2 1/2 inches of depth to 375 degrees.  When the oil is hot, scoop up about a tablespoon or so of the vegetable mixture and form it into a ball shape.  Gently drop it into the hot oil.  Repeat with remaining mixture.  Do not overcrowd the pan.  You will need to do this in several batches.  Remove the balls when they begin to turn a golden brown and drain on paper towels.  The batter does not contain eggs and is extremely fragile so you will have to work carefully.  I found this to be the most difficult part of the process.  If you are not using a deep fryer (as I wasn't) be very careful as you loosen the balls from the bottom of the pan.

When you are ready to assemble the dish, rewarm the tomato sauce over medium-low heat.  (Add water, if needed, to bring the volume of the sauce up to 3 1/2 cups.)  Then, gently place the kafta into the sauce and heat until hot.

As I was looking for other cookbooks by Sahni, I discovered that she teaches classes in New York.  She offers a 3 1/2 day intensive cooking course that covers all aspects of Indian cuisine.  She keeps the classes small, never taking more than three students at a time.  The cost?  A mere $2,700.  I'm sure my wealthy, generous readers would like to help me with the cost of attending one of these classes.  You may do so by clicking on the donate button at the top right of this blog!!!

A couple of vegetarian pasta recipes

How fortuitous was it that I should stumble over a pasta recipe calling for swiss chard just days after bringing home a bagful of the leafy greens from Country Gardens?  After my disastrous asparagus pie the other day, I was a bit hesitant to try another vegetarian recipe, but I really wanted to try something different with the swiss chard so I decided to give it a go.  The finished dish actually turned out better than I expected.  I loved the little bites of sweet raisins and the nutty crunch of the pine nuts.  I don't think it's the kind of dish  your family will drool over and beg you to make again and again (at least not if they're anything like mine), but it would probably delight any vegetarian dinner guests or swiss chard lovers you might find yourself preparing a meal for.

The recipe calls for a "bunch" of swiss chard.  What constitutes a bunch is pretty much up to you.  I used, well..... a BUNCH.  Before beginning the recipe, prepare the swiss chard by cutting out the stems; then thinly slice enough stems to give you about 1/2 cup and toss the rest away (or save for some other creative use.)  Slice the chard leaves into ribbons about 1/4 inch thick.  Now you're ready to start the recipe.

In a large skillet, melt

   6 T butter

Let the butter cook over medium heat until it turns a nutty brown then add in

   chard leaves, sliced

   4 cloves garlic, crushed

stir until wilted (about 3 minutes) and then toss in

   1 bunch of spinach leaves

again, cook and stir until wilted then stir in

   1 1/2 t lemon juice

   1/4 cup golden raisin that have been plumped for 10 minutes in hot water and then drained

For the pasta, cook according to package directions

   12 oz linguine

   1/2 cup swiss chard stems (toss in when you add the pasta)

Drain the pasta and swiss chard stems and mix in the wilted greens.  Stir in

   1 1/3 cup grated Parmesan

   1/3 cup toasted pine nuts

   1 T chopped chives

   2 t chopped fresh thyme

Salt and pepper to taste.

Along with a bag of swiss chard, I brought home something called garlic scapes.  These are the beautiful, curly tops of garlic plants.  They aren't nearly as strong as garlic, but have a wonderful garlicky taste.

To be honest, I wasn't quite sure what to do with these so I looked them up online.  I found a simple recipe for pesto made with garlic scapes and decided to give it a try.  It had a very "green" smell but the taste was much more mild.  My son had two bowls of farfelle with garlic scape pesto and he thought it tasted "pretty good."  If you'd like to try the pesto you'll need about one cup of sliced garlic scapes.

In a food processor, blend

   1 cup sliced garlic scapes

   1/3 cup walnuts

with the processor running, slowly pour in

   3/4 cup olive oil

add in

   1/4 - 1/3 cup grated parmesan

   1/2 t salt

pulse until well combined.

  

Food not fit for a dog

I sometimes read a food blog called Closet Cooking and the other day I saw this interesting recipe for an asparagus filo pie with avgolemono sauce that I really wanted to try.  When I found asparagus at Hill's market for only .99 cents a pound, I decided NOW was the time.

Although working with filo dough can be a bit intimidating for the uninitiated, it really isn't that difficult and the recipe was very simple and went together quickly.  It had layers of chopped asparagus, walnuts, and dill, alternating with cheesy layers of mozzarella, ricotta, and feta.  As I chopped and layered in my kitchen, I whistled a happy tune, my heart full of joyful anticipation.  I was sure I was on the brink of discovering another deliciously unusual recipe I could serve to my vegetarian friends.

One hour later, I sat slumped in disappointment, a half-eaten square of asparagus pie on my plate.  I simply did not like this dish!  The filling was bland and the sauce was way too tart.  I could hardly gag it down.  When my husband, Eddy, asked for a piece I begged him not to get involved.  He thought I was exaggerating and insisted on trying a piece of his own.  A few minutes later, I caught him trying to feed it to the dog.  Not even Allie (who is famous for showing no discrimination at all in matters of the palate) would have anything to do with it.  She turned up her nose at the offered pie and headed off to the cat box to look for something tastier.

It pained me to scrape the whole thing (minus two pieces) into the trash.  But I was left without any other options!  Never-the-less, as I closed the lid on the trash can, I found myself wondering, "what if I would change the sauce and spice up the filling......."  I may just try this recipe again with some changes of my own.  In the meantime, it sure took a pretty picture!

What to do with lemon balm

Last week, I got a bag of lemon balm from Country Gardens.  I have been wanting to try this chicken salad recipe for several years and now I finally had the chance!  It's a beautiful salad, tasty, and made with healthy fruits and veggies.  You can pretty much figure out how to make it just by looking at the picture.  It has avocado, red beets, papaya, watercress, chicken, and walnuts.  (I took the picture before I sprinkled on the walnuts!)  The chicken and the dressing are really the only things that need explaining.

For the chicken, preheat the oven to 350.  Place two whole chicken breasts (with skin and bones) in a lightly greased baking dish, sprinkle with s & p and drizzle with about 1 T of fresh lemon juice.  Cover tightly with foil and bake until done (anywhere from 30 to 50 minutes depending on the size of the breasts).  Be careful not to let them overcook or the meat will be dry and chewy.

When the chicken is done, let it cool, remove the skin and tear it from the bone in large shreds.

Mix together:
  1/4 cup olive oil
  1/4 cup dry white wine
  2 T finely chopped lemon balm
  2 T finely chopped onion

Pour the above over the chicken and let marinate in the refrigerator for at least two hours.

For the dressing, combine in a blender or food processor and process until well blended:
  2 shallots, chopped
  2 T honey
  3 T chopped lemon balm
  2 T dry white wine
  2 T fresh lemon juice
 1 T Dijon mustard
 2/3 cup olive oil

To assemble the salad, place salad greens of your choice on a plate and artfully arrange all the remaining salad ingredients on top of the greens.  Sprinkle with chopped walnuts and drizzle with the dressing.

After making the salad, I still had enough lemon balm left to make a loaf of Rhubarb Lemon Balm Tea Bread.  My son, who believes he doesn't like rhubarb, loved this bread and couldn't stop eating it!

Preheat the over to 350.  Grease a 9 X 5 inch loaf pan.  Line the bottom and sides with wax paper.

In a large bowl, combine:

  1 1/2 cup brown sugar

  2/3 cup canola oil

In a small bowl, beat together

  1 cup buttermilk

  1 egg

  1 t vanilla

Combine the brown sugar mixture and the buttermilk mixture.  Blend thoroughly.

In another bowl, combine:

  1 t baking soda

  1 t salt

  2 1/2 cups flour

Stir the above into the brown sugar mixture and fold in

  1 1/2 cup chopped, uncooked rhubarb

Pour the batter into the prepared pan

Combine and then sprinkle over the top of the loaf:

  1/4 cup sugar

  1/3 cup finely chopped lemon balm

  1 t lemon zest

  1 T unsalted butter, at room temperature

Bake for 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the top comes out clean.  Let cool in pan for 10 minutes and then cool completely on a wire rack.  Remove the wax paper after the loaf is cool.

You have to be careful when handling this loaf.  It's fragile!  Be gentle when you slice it.

What I did with week 1

This is my first week as a member of Country Garden and Farm Market.  My first bag of organic produce contained: pea tendrils, strawberries, lettuce, arugula, fava beans, onions, lemon balm, and thyme.  I was pretty excited about the pea tendrils as I have seen them called for in a lot of Asian recipes but have never had any luck finding them.  Unfortunately, I didn't use them to try any of those recipes as I didn't feel I had enough to cook.  I'm sure they would have cooked way down.  So I used them to make a salad instead.  I made a salad with pea tendrils, strawberries, and cucumber and drizzled it with balsamic vinegar sweetened with a little honey.

I was also excited about the chance to try another fava bean recipe.  After the labor-intensive effort of removing them from their pods and shells, I sauteed them in olive oil with garlic and prosciutto.  I finished them off by glazing them with a little balsamic vinegar and sprinkling on some finely chopped mint.  The fava beans in this batch weren't quite as sweet and tender as the ones from a couple of weeks ago, but they were still very tasty.  I think their season must be about over!

The arugula also got turned into a salad.  This salad was a bit more time consuming.  I tossed the arugula with caramelized red onions, candied walnuts, goat cheese, and croutons and drizzled it with a balsamic vinaigrette.  It was so delicious!

But my favorite was probably the poppy seed strawberry shortcake that I made with the sweet, delicious, organic strawberries!

The thyme will be used to make Haitian food as this is a key ingredient in almost every Haitian dish!  I'm not sure yet what I'll do with the lemon balm, but I've been eyeing a recipe for a chicken and fruit summer salad that calls for lemon balm, so maybe I'll give that a try.  Does anyone else have any suggestions on how to use lemon balm?

Overall, I was pretty happy with my first week of produce.  My only complaint would be the quantity.  A full bag is supposed to feed four people, but except for the strawberry shortcakes, the quantities I received barely made two servings.  Maybe that's because it's early in the season?  I'll have to wait and see what happens as we get further into the summer.

If you would like details on any of the recipes I made, let me know and I'll post or email you with the recipe!