Tim -- here's another family favorite not-so-secret

OK, so it's a little up-scaled, but here is....(drum roll)... the carrot salad of my childhood:

"Grate carrots, toast some sunflower seeds, and toss with blueberries, olive oil, lemon juice and plenty of black pepper. Sweet, sour, crunchy, soft."

This is an excerpt from a great NY Times article on summer salads: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/22/dining/22mlist.html?em

I'm anxious to try the "grown-up" substitutes for raisins and pineapple chunks. But I guess that's part of the appeal of mom's version -- it was super cheap and super easy.

Lemony Potatoes

Lemony Potatoes

from the Cook’s Country Magazine

2 lbs baby red potatoes, scrubbed and halved (quartered if large)

2 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed, plus 2 cloves, minced

1 ½ tsp grated zest and 2 T juice from 1 lemon

1 c low-sodium chicken broth

Salt & Pepper

2 T extra virgin olive oil

2 T finely chopped fresh parsley

1. RINSE POTATOES: Place potatoes in colander set over large bowl. Rinse under running water, tossing with hands until water runs clear. Drain potatoes well.
2. COOK POTATOES: Bring potatoes, smashed garlic, lemon juice, chicken broth and ½ tsp salt to boil in large nonstick skillet. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, covered, until potatoes are just tender, about 12-15 minutes. Remove lid and increase heat to medium. Cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid evaporates, about 5 minutes.
3. CRISP POTATOES: Discard garlic cloves and add oil to pan. Turn all potatoes cut-side down and continue to cook until deep golden brown, about 6 minutes. Off heat, stir in parsley, lemon zest, and minced garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Serve.

Pasta with Carmelized Onion Sauce

Pasta with Carmelized Onion Sauce

From the New Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen

The proportions of ingredients in this recipe are somewhat flexible. You can play with the amounts of onions and greens, and you can substitute other leafy greens (collard, escarole, mustard, etc.) for the arugula or spinach. Other soft pungent cheeses can be substituted for the feta or blue cheese.

½ c olive oil

4 to 6 large onions (however many you have the patience to slice), thinly sliced (abt 6-8 cups)

½ tsp salt

½-1 cup dry white wine

1 medium bunch arugula or spinach, stemmed and minced

1 cup crumbled feta or blue cheese

¾ lb pasta ( a short, shapely variety, like penne or fussili)

1 cup chopped, toasted walnuts

Parmesan cheese

1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet or sauté pan. Add onions and sauté over medium heat for about 15 minutes. Add salt, lower heat, and continue to cook for at least another 10 minutes (and up to an hour for really deliciously well-done onions)
2. Add white wine, turn heat back up to medium, and simmer uncovered for about 15 minutes. At this point the sauce can be set aside until you are ready to cook the pasta.
3. Turn the heat back on under the sauce when you are ready to cook the pasta. When the onions are hot, add the chopped greens, stir, and cook for about 5 minutes. Stir in the crumbled cheese, and turn heat to low while cooking pasta.
4. After the cooked pasta is drained, add it to the sauce, and stir briefly in the pan before serving. Sprinkle with walnuts and parmesan, and serve.

COOK’S NOTES: I used the max amount of onions and cooked them for the max amount of time. They were fabulous! I highly recommend using some sort of a mandolin slicer like a V-Slicer if you are going to make the recipe. It speeds up the onion slicing significantly and gives you evenly thin slices. Also light a candle nearby to help quench the tears. I used spinach and blue cheese and loved it. I have not tried any of the other variations yet, but I’m sure they would be tasty as well. The white wine I used was Savignon Blanc. It is a nice dry white wine that I’m told is not too sweet. I have yet to learn the in’s and out’s of wines and their use in cooking. I usually just get what’s recommended to me and this was great. The sauce clumped together when I added the pasta, so I might recommend serving the sauce over individual portions, if you want to try and avoid that. Also, sprinkle the walnuts and parmesan to taste over each portion. They really add to the overall flavor of the dish. We loved it. Very different and delicious!

So, I tried it with the feta and LOVED it. If you're not a complete fan of blue cheese, the feta is fabulous. Van and I both think we liked it more. The taste between the two is very different, but what we liked about both versions is the complete difference from any other pasta dish we usually eat. It awakens an otherwise bored palate. :) hope you try and enjoy soon.

Sweet Potato Pancakes

Sweet Potato Pancakes
From The New Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen

These can be for breakfast, brunch, lunch, or supper, depending on what you serve them with (and of course, what time of day or night it is). The sweet potatoes and onion can be grated by hand or in a food processor fitted with the grating attachment. Peeling the sweet potato is optional. If you choose not to peel, scrub. NOTE: the batter stores well for several days if kept in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator.

4 cups (packed) coarsely grated sweet potatoes or yams (approx. 1 large or 2 medium sized)
½ c grated onion
3-4 Tbs. lemon juice
1 tsp salt
Black pepper, to taste
4 beaten eggs
1/3 c flour
Optional: ¼ c minced parsley
Oil for frying
TOPPINGS: sour cream or yogurt, applesauce

1. Combine all ingredients and mix well.
2. Heat a small amount of oil in a skillet until it is very hot (It should sizzle a fleck of batter upon contact).
3. Use a non-slotted spoon to form thin pancakes, patting the batter down. Fry on both sides until brown, adding small amounts of additional oil, if/as needed.
4. Serve hot, with toppings.


COOK’S NOTES: These are super tasty. I served them with both the sour cream and Pear Sauce, because I didn’t have applesauce, and both were very good. Be careful about how hot the pan is. You don’t need it to be higher than med-high heat or they will quickly scorch. You can use less oil to fry them as well, but they can burn faster that way. I didn’t use the parsley, but I’m sure it would have been good. I used 4 T lemon juice and it added a nice tang—we didn’t find them too lemony. Enjoy!

Asparagus Bean Salad

Asparagus Bean Salad

For the salad:

1 lb fresh asparagus (I used 2 lbs. and it was still plenty flavorful and I liked the extra greens—there is ample dressing)

6 dried tomatoes (I used sun dried bottled tomatoes instead—I couldn’t find the dried ones)

15 oz. white navy beans, drained and rinsed

¼ cup chopped onions

3 tsp capers drained (I don’t know that these were vital to the flavor of the salad, but they were good)

3 T grated Parmesan cheese

For the dressing:

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 ½ Tbsp. brown sugar

4 T rice vinegar

4 T olive oil (if you use the sundried tomatoes, you can use some of the oil from them)

2 T water

1 ½ tsp Dijon mustard

¼ tsp ground sage

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

Place the asparagus in a small saucepan. Add 1” of water and cover and cook until tender-crisp. Drain & chill. If using the dried tomatoes place in a saucepan with 1” water. Cover and place over medium heat for about 4 minutes until plump. Drain and chop into small chunks and chill. In a small bowl whisk together the garlic, brown sugar, oil, vinegar, water, mustard, sage, salt and pepper. In a large bowl toss asparagus, tomatoes, beans, onions, and capers. Pour dressing over all and mix well. Chill for at least 1 hour. Before serving, sprinkle with parmesan cheese and serve. It’s DELICIOUS! Mmmmmm.

NOTE: The friend that shared this recipe with me mentioned that it was a bit pricey because of the asparagus. When it’s in season, it’s not too bad, but I thought that the flavors would go well with green beans as well, so you might give it a try.

Quick simple terriyaki shiskabobs

OK, so I don't know how to spell it, but I marinated baby portabellos, green and red peppers, large garlic cloves, and onions for about an hour in:

1/4 C Soy
1/4 C sherry
1/4 C olive oil
1 tsp fresh grated ginger
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1 T brown sugar

Served it up with steamed fresh spinach and brown rice. Mmmmm....the kids loved it too!

Tomato Sandwich

So, here's a tomato-obsessed essay from NPR. Funny that the recipe suggested at the end is an old Hawkes family stand-by, though it makes the mistake of subsituting "the whiter the bread, the quicker you're dead," for a good whole wheat: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106932330. (I planted Cherokee Purple this year, by the way, and they are delicious.)