Hi everyone! It's been awhile, so I thought I would pop in with some highlights from what we've cooked and eaten.
Tomatoes and peaches are a theme, for sure. I feel like I've had many conversations this summer about how delicious peaches are-- apparently, we aren't the only ones that now have time for the patience required to wait for a perfectly ripe peach. And we've been mainlining tomatoes. We get some weekly at the Deep Roots farm stand, but also have had several beauties off of our patio. With summer produce so beautiful, meals are more about composing than cooking. Like this porch tomato with burrata that we had for breakfast earlier in the week.
We have also upped our basic pantry ingredient game. I'm convinced that high quality oils are key to a restaurant-quality meal. As Ina Garten would say, use "good olive oil." For that matter, good butter also makes a difference. Since March, we've tried lots of different butters, because with infrequent grocery trips, you can't be too picky about the brand. Right now, we're loving Trader Joe's French cultured butter for spreading. Finally, take-and-bake baguettes are a revelation of the pandemic. Our long-awaited new Safeway opened a block away two weeks ago. La Brea brand is where it's at! A two-pack of demi-baguette gets us through any bread emergencies.
Some recent recipes worth noting:
Turkish Simit
A simit is like a cross between a sesame bagel and a pretzel. I used this recipe for my first attempt, and was quite pleased! We don't have a stand mixer, so I got to kneading-- 12 minutes in all, which feels a bit like a lifetime. I think maybe it was an episode of Great British Baking Show Masterclass that taught me that, for some breads, you should just knead through the sticky rather than add more flour. That was the case here, and it turned out great.
Instead of grape molasses, I used half as much blackstrap and a few tsp of white sugar for dipping. It required a full jar of sesame seeds, toasted, but was very much worth it. And they freeze beautifully, reheating under the broiler even better than a bagel does.
These made an appearance at a special brunch for my dear friend Toni. We served them with a feast: peach and tomato salad (olive oil, salt, pepper, balsamic glaze, and a few bits of mint and basil); labne with olive oil, salt, pepper, and chopped mint; cucumber and dill salad; charred eggplant salad we discovered earlier in the pandemic; and soft scrambled eggs with cream cheese and chives. Toni was my first boss after college, and all of these years later, remains a very special mentor and friend. She loves good food, and Jeff and I have shared many beautiful meals with her over the years. Having her in our home recently for a brunch felt... very close to normal. It is a memory that I will cherish.
Ventresca Salad
Toni recently returned to the U.S. from Madrid, and she brought us a gift of some very special canned tuna. Then she passed along this recipe for a simple tomato, piquillo pepper, and tuna salad. We grew the tomato and thyme; the peppers and baguette came from the grocery store If you are looking for a delicious, easy lunch and don't have friends willing to bring you canned fish from Spain, try Tonnino brand, which is available at Whole Foods or on Amazon. Decadent and delicious!
French Fry Fritatta
Breakfast this morning was a fridge leftover parfait. Last night, we had take out gyros, which came with giant helpings of oregano-seasoned fries. Leftover fries will never see their crispy fresh glory again, but are perfect chopped up in a fritatta. This one included plenty of caramelized onions, and took advantage of chopped sweet Italian sausage and sauteed mushrooms leftover from our Friday pizza night. I warmed everything in the pan, poured over 8 beaten eggs, and cooked over medium heat (with a lid) for 15 minutes. Followed by 5 minutes under the broiler to crisp the top. Leftovers will make a great breakfast tomorrow, too!
Scallops with Fresh Corn and Chorizo
Dinner tonight, this recipe, was keeping with the "simple" theme. Plus, scallops were on sale this week!
I only made two changes from the recipe. One was that I decreased the amount of buttermilk, from 1 cup to about 1/2. The other was to sprinkle in some sweet smoked paprika. We sopped up the juice with-- you guessed it!--baguette.
Pork Chile Verde
The farmer's market stand had beautiful tomatillos this time, so chile verde it is! Still simmering over on the stove, but I really cannot wait to eat this later this week, with flour tortillas and some spiced black beans.
The rest of the week:
Besides the scallops and the chile verde, prep tonight included Jeff's magic knife skills on carrots, onions, and celery hanging out in our veggie drawer for... way too long. These will become an easy stir fry to serve with Teriyaki chicken thighs (I'll plop them into a bottled marinade the night before) later in the week.
Baby eggplants and a yellow bell pepper will join crumbled tofu in black bean and garlic sauce, and served with knock-off PF Chang's garlic noodles (a spicy, sweet, garlicy favorite). I have some fresh Chinese egg noodles from a couple weeks back that need to be used, so here we are. I can't wait!
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