Tag Archives: lemon

Unlikely bedfellow: tomatoes, vanilla and JAM

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Decided to do something completely unconventional with my 3 pounds of tomatoes. Like many folks, we are burnt out on fresh tomato sauce, bruschetta, and tomato salads by this time of the year. So I decided to to give this intriguing recipe for Sweet Tomato Jam posted on the NY Times a whirl.

I was skeptical, but it is a good one. Melissa Clark does not disappoint. The refrigerator jam is super sweet and savory simultaneously. Beautiful color, and really easy to prepare once you put some elbow grease into chopping up 3 pounds of tomatoes. I made a few modifications, like using less honey than the recipe called for simply because I ran out, and vanilla extract because I didn’t have any vanilla beans on hand. I also added a few dried red chili peppers to add some heat to balance the sweetness. I’ve included my version below. Of course, I have no idea how we will consume all this scrumptious jam…rather, I fear I will consume it all on my own.

Ingredients:

3 pounds firm ripe tomatoes, cored and diced (about 8 cups)
1/2 cup honey
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons vanilla
2-3 dried red chili peppers (optional)
Pinch fine sea salt

Instructions:
Combine all ingredients in large stainless steel pot, or other non-reactive material. Bring to simmer and let cook for 1 hour 30 minutes, or until jammy consistency reached.

Sweet Tomato Jam bubbling on the stove

Taste and add additional salt if needed to balance flavor. Spoon into glass jars and let cool before refrigerating.

Yield: 3 half-pint jars

For canning instructions, see NY Times recipe

Pesto Gone Wild

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The clock is ticking for this year’s herb garden. As we approach frost-like temps in the evening, I know my basil has a limited life span. So, I did some heavy pruning on the basil this weekend and whipped up another batch of pesto to put up for the winter (remember pasta al pesto genovese?). While I was at it, I noticed that  parsley was in need of a trim, too, so did the same for my flat-leafed friend. Did you know you can make a rather tasty pesto sauce out of parsley, too? And arugula, as well, but sadly, don’t have any growing in my garden just yet. Stay tuned for updates on the cold frame…

I followed a recipe from my trusty “How to Cook Everything” by Mark Bittman. From memory, it is something like this:

Ingredients:

2 cups tightly packed, washed and dried parsley leaves
2 cloves garlic, peeled
zest and juice from 1 small lemon
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts (can also use walnuts)
3/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper

Lemon zest, parsley, garlic and toasted pine nuts ready to whirl

Instructions:

Place all ingredients in food processor or blender, but use only 1/2 of the olive oil. Pulse several times and then drizzle in remaining olive oil until desired consistency is reached. Taste for salt and pepper. Will stay in the fridge for 3 days, or pour a small layer of olive oil on top and freeze. Delicious on pasta, meats, fish, panini, etc.

I enjoyed reading RachelEats’s blog post about her parsley pesto as well. Check it out here.

Freezer-ready pesto

It’s Thursday and I’ve finally covered off on all of last weekend’s cooking escapades.

Tabbouli Tabbouli Tabbouli

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I just said it 3X because it’s kind of a dirty word in our house. Some people (who will go unnamed) won’t touch it. So instead of putting it on the menu, I made a delicious quinoa recipe on Saturday with fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, and garlic from our CSA pick-up, along with parsley, chives and mint from our garden, and didn’t utter the 8 letter word. And what do you know? It was roundly enjoyed.

I’ve written about quinoa and its virtues before, so no need to blather on about that. I will say that this recipe from Bon Appetit for Tabbouli-style quinoa was easy to prepare and very enjoyable: crunchy, summery, fresh and healthy. It also lasts a day or two, tasting better on day 2 if you ask me.

Bon Appetit’s Tabbouli Quinoa. My preparation looked the exact same

I prepared the recipe with minimal modifications and it was perfect [used chopped and seeded hothouse tomatoes instead of cherry tomatoes]. Here’s how I know:

  1. Aesthetics: it looked exactly like BA’s photo above (ex the cherry tomatoes)
  2. 2nd Helpings: Served at a casual buffet lunch and discerning guests came back for more (ok, not super scientific, but unless everything else tasted awful…)
  3. The “H” Factor: Hubs liked it

Just call it something else. Chalk up another win for quinoa. I still have to try Rebecca’s recipe before the end of the month.

Grilled Fish at Altitude: Branzino in Montagna

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Ever grilled a whole fish? Easier than you think if you have a trusty fishmonger and a hot fire. I’m visiting dear friend Alyce Henness in the Italian Alps. Alyce and her snowboarding superstar husband Luca live in a cozy, Alpine-style home with all the mod cons in the town of La Salle, which is in the region of the Valle d’Aosta. Imagine clean mountain air, soft green grass, a river roaring past and Mont Blanc in the background. One could do worse…
Not eating meat is a rarity in Italy, but actually extremely easy to do with all the readily available fresh produce, pasta and fish. Even here in the mountains, Alyce picked up a beautiful whole branzino for me at the local supermarket.

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Branzino is Italian for sea bass, and let me tell you, we are hours from the sea and this guy looks like he blew his last bubbles this morning. The branzino weighed in at a hefty pound an a quarter and thankfully Alyce had the foresight to ask the fishmonger to clean it for us. Like I said, need to have a good fishmonger, because no one wants to scale a fish in the kitchen. I stuffed the fish with sliced lemon, branches of rosemary, and some sliced garlic. Drizzled it with olive oil and some salt and pepper and it was ready to go.

Luca grilled it to perfection on the charcoal grill in their garden – about 6 or 7 minutes per side and voila.

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I removed the flesh from the bones and placed the delicate white meat on a clean plate, drizzled it with a little more olive oil, squirt of lemon and some salt and pepper. Cooked perfectly. Delicious – even Alyce and Luca, who were happily eating grilled fillet, agreed. Bravo, Luca!

And to accompany our meal, Alyce prepared yummy baked zucchini boats topped with melted parmiggiano. The recipe was passed along from Alyce’s mom Susan, in Erie, PA. Maybe Alyce could share her timely recipe as we are all overloaded with zucchini at this time of year…and to drink, we had a local, light and refreshing Muller-Thurgau with our meal.

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And as if that weren’t enough, hostess extraordinaire Alyce served homemade strawberry ice cream, made with tiny pieces of local fragole. I couldn’t get a picture because my 2 scoops were consumed too fast. Whoops.
Thank you again, Alyce and Luca!

Grilled Branzino

Bayside Dinner in Bristol

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Had a delicious meal last night at cousins Kara and David Milner’s beautiful bayfront home in Bristol, Rhode Island. Is nothing better than a lovingly prepared home-cooked, market-driven meal prepared by someone else?? Add a to-die for view and easy-going companionship and you’ve got a recipe for a perfect evening. Kara prepared Campfire Salmon, Israeli couscous and a crunchy seasonal salad.

Kara’s Camfire Salmon

The Campfire Salmon is a variation on a recipe from a handy cookbook called Simply in Season. Kara kindly walked me through the recipe briefly. Good thing about it is that you can prepare it in advance, wrap it up in tin foil, and pop it in the fridge until you are ready to grill (or bake in oven). Kara sliced up onion, placed a large filet of wild salmon on top, sliced up lemons and local zucchini to go on top, sprinked with some fresh dill, a dash of olive oil and a splash of white wine. Fold up the tin foil and cook immediately on a heated grill or 450 degree F oven, or store in fridge until ready to do so. This versatile recipe is a great way to feed a large group and you can add/subtract veggies based on what’s in season. Like it.

On the side, I loved Kara’s crunchy salad featuring heirloom cherry tomatoes and yellow cucumbers from a local CSA, crunchy fresh corn kernels, spinach, maybe some watercress (?) and sliced sweet red onions. Kara, chime in if I missed anything.

Kara’s Salad: tomatoes, yellow cucumbers, corn, spinach, red onion and watercress

And did I mention the Sour Cream Blueberry Pie for dessert?? So yummy, with a crispy lattice top and crust. Hubs refused to even taste at the mere mention of the words “sour cream.” His loss – was scrumptious. I haven’t bugged Kara yet for the recipe and probably won’t. Fear if I make it, it will go straight to my hips.

Thank you, Kara & David!

Sure Beats Steaming…

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What a great surprise! Check out this gorgeous glass jar of pickled haricot verts that I received as a gift from my neighbor Dan Doern. Dan mixed the haricot verts from our 7/14/12 CSA pick up with vinegar, sliced lemons, peppercorns, garlic cloves, epazote (from his own garden) and jalapeno peppers to make a super tasty quick pickle.

The last time I used epazote was during a cooking class in Oaxaca, Mexico. Color me impressed…

Dan nuked everything for a minute and then stored it in this airtight glass container. Stored in the fridge, this tasty treat should last a few weeks.

And what flavor! The haricot verts are spicy, savory, tangy and citrus-y sweet all at the same time. Dan recommends adding to bloody marys for additional savoriness. We snacked on them with cocktails before dinner. Puts my steamed green beans to shame!

Dan, chime in on what I’m missing re: the recipe or instructions. And thank you again!