I ran across this recipe from the Create show, Pati’s Mexican Table. It was a meat dish with chroizo and was cooked a different way. I really like the way it came out as a side. It is great warm, room temperature or even cold. It would be a tasty side dish to take to a gathering, especially a Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner. We had it with some brown rice and the last of our gypsy peppers, stuffed. A good mix of complimentary flavors.

Roasted Sweet Potato Salad

Serves 6-8 as a side dish
Equipment: Large pot for boiling potatoes & 9″ X 13″ pyrex dish for roasting potatoes

3 lb sweet potatoes peeled and diced 3/4″
3 T olive oil
1 C fresh orange juice with goodies
1/2 – 3/4 tsp light brown sugar
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
1/2 – 1 fresh jalapeno, minced depends on how hot you like it
1/3 C red onion, small dice
1/3 C cilantro leaves, washed and patted dry

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Whisk together the olive oil, orange juice, brown sugar, kosher salt and black pepper. (Add a little white wine vinegar or white wine for a bite). Cover and set aside for at least 15 minutes to mellow. Taste and adjust flavors.

Boil some salted water in the pot and drop in the sweet potatoes and cook for about 10 minutes until a fork can just pierce a diced piece. Drain and put the slightly cooked sweet potatoes in the pyrex pan. Add the dressing and toss. Roast for about 30 minutes tossing them at least twice until they get just a little caramelized and just a little tender. Take out of oven and let sit for 15-20 minutes until all the dressing is absorbed.
Add the pepper, onion and cilantro and toss again. Serve slightly warm.

For a different flavor, don’t roast them as long, about 20-25 minutes. Instead of jalapeno, red onion and cilantro, use a sweet pepper, shallot and chiffoniered sage leaves, or use red bell pepper, scallion, mint and a Thai pepper. Add some orange zest.

I make this at least the day before in a pyrex dish that has a tight fitting blue plastic lid. Easy to stick in the fridge overnight and just let sit out the next day near the stove to warm up. It is actually better 1-2 days after making!

Here is a recipe I found at Vegetarian Times that I have changed quite a bit. It takes a little over 1 hour from start chopping to finish cooking, so, it is fairly fast to make. I really like the additional seeds and the fig balsamic vinegar in the dish. If you don’t have that, just add some dried figs or raisins to the curry. I think I may add some dried figs, apricots or other dried fruits to the next batch, it would really be a nice melding of savory and sweet flavors. The really more complex flavors of the yellow fin potatoes, golden beets and seeds just add a nice, satisfying “tooth” to the dish. Naan, rice or quinoa, and a sweet tomato, mango or mint chutney would be a nice accompaniment.

Masman Curried Potatoes

Serves 6-8
Equipment: A 4 quart cast iron dutch oven or stock pot with a lid, wooden spoons to stir with

1 1/2 T canola oil
1 large yellow onion, peeled and chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
4 yellow fin or yukon gold potatoes, scrubbed and large chopped
1 large golden beet, peeled, halved and thinly sliced
2 large carrots, scrubbed and sliced in about 2″ X 1/2″ sticks
3 T Mae Ploy Masman paste
1 15 oz can black beans with juice
1 15 oz can organic diced tomatoes with juice
1/2 C homemade vegetable broth or boxed broth (add more as needed)
1-2 jalapeno chiles, deveined, seeded and minced (depends on how hot they are)
1-2 tsp balsamic vinegar (I used a nice fig balsamic vinegar)
1/2 – 1 C water or more as needed
1/2 – 1 tsp each of: cumin seeds, fennel seeds, cardamon seeds, crushed red pepper (use less of this until you know how hot it is) crushed in a mortar and pestle

Heat oil in pot about medium to medium high. Add onion and saute until translucent, add potatoes, beets, carrots and Masman paste and saute for 4-6 minutes, stirring a bit. Make a space and add the spices and saute a little. Stir up and add the garlic and saute for 1-2 minutes more. Add everything else but the water, stir and bring to a high heat to boil, then turn down to a bubbling simmer, add 1/2 C water and cook for 15 minutes, add more water or broth throughout the simmering as needed to keep a sauce going. Adjust seasonings like the vinegar or Masman. Turn down the heat to a slow simmer for another 30-45 minutes until potatoes are flaky and soft.
This dish needs to be almost a stew, not a soup. Put salt or pepper on the table.
Serve over quinoa or rice.

This is a simple and flavorful side dish good for all sorts of meals. It is fairly quick to make and tastes wonderful. I got the cabbage at my local farmers market when they came in season. There are so many wonderful cabbages to use. I want to try to grow some next year. If you get a big head of cabbage it will last in the crisper for a week or two with the end covered in plastic wrap. A head of savoy cabbage whole kept in the crisper for two weeks and was great in an Asian salad.
I have always liked a little red cabbage to brighten up my cole slaw. I’ve never made hot red cabbage before. I did a lot of research and found a hundred ways to make this dish. This is more an Austrian way to make it, rather than the typical German. What I like about it is it is simple and could be made while making other dishes without much care. You could make it with Stroganoff or German potato salad and a pork roast or ? It still would come out just as delicious.

Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage

Serves 6-8

1/4 C unsalted butter
12 C finely chopped red cabbage, washed and drained
6 T demerara sugar (natural lite brown sugar)
2/3 C balsamic vinegar (I used a fig balsamic vinegar)
sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Saute the cabbage in a large skillet in the butter for 5 minutes. Add sugar and toss well to coat the cabbage with the sugar. Cook for 2-3 minutes and add the vinegar and toss. Turn the heat down to a simmer and cook for about 30 minutes until the cabbage is softening a little. You want it to still be firm. Take off the heat and add the salt and pepper a little at a time to taste. I underseason it and let my guests add what they like.

Nothin’ like great fresh green beans made simple! And you can’t get much simpler than this! I had some fresh blanched green beans in my freezer that I got this year and decided on a new way to fix them. I didn’t want to heat the house with the oven but wanted a nice roasted flavor to them. They were so sweet and earthy and flavorful. So here you are.

Pan Roasted Green Beans

Serves 4-6

1/2 lb. fresh or fresh frozen green beans
1-2 T olive oil
1 T butter
1 tsp fresh lemon zest
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Toss the beans in 1 T olive oil and drop in the pan and turn down the heat just a little bit. Cook the beans covered for 20 minutes or so, tossing several times. Turn down the heat if you need to cook them slower. You want them beginning to brown on some sides and smelling roasted, but still plump and green. Add some oil if needed. When they are cooked as you like them, add the butter, lemon zest and pepper and toss well. Serve with salt and pepper on the side. You can add some herbs or crushed red pepper as you wish. I like them just like this with my main course.

A good green bean salad can be taken to any summer event and enjoyed without a problem of spoiling if you don’t use mayo or eggs or other protien. The beans are harcort verts or skinny French green beans. This salad is good warm or room temp, cold, not so much. So, the perfect salad for a picnic.
I made a much larger version of this salad for our local congregational dinner for the homeless, therefore, no garlic or too spicy a dish. For a smaller group of 8-16, this recipe works well.
The recipe originally came from an old Jamie Oliver cookbook (I think).

Warm French Green Bean Salad

1 lb frozen or fresh French green beans
3 tsp Dijon mustard
2 T white wine vinegar (I used a mellow Italian brand)
3 T extra virgin olive oil
1 medium shallot, diced
1 T capers, drained
1-2 cloves garlic, minced (optional)
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Serves 8 for a side dish

Boil some water and turn down to a fast simmer and drop the prepped green beans in. Stir and simmer for 2-5 minutes until barely tender keeping the green color. Using a spider, drain the beans into a large colander. Toss the beans until dry. Combine the mustard, vinegar and olive oil and whisk until thickened. Add salt and pepper to taste and whisk again. Pour over the dry green beans in a serving bowl along with the shallots, capers and garlic. Toss well and taste and adjust the seasonings. Serve warm or room temperature.

We planted some collards, kale, radish and salad spinach this year for the first time and, even though we planted each in a 1 foot square plot, we got a really good crop. We harvested the salad spinach last week, the radishes two weeks ago and since and the collards for the first time this last weekend. Fresh collards cooked are so amazing. Easy to grow and easy to cook. They are firm to the tooth and keep well in the fridge for several days. Lovely as a lunch or a side for a dinner later in the week.
I am a fusion chef, so, I made this dish from several cultures. Do use either a Walla Walla or a Vadila onion for the flavor these sweet onions impart. The Spanish pimenton (Spanish smoked paprika)# was a revelation! It is so flavorful and, at only $3.49 for a 2.6 oz container, a good bargain. I am becoming an addict because it is so aromatic. The brand is De La Vera by SANMEL.

Vegetarian Collard Greens

Serves 8 1/2 C servings

2 lbs fresh collard greens
1 -2 T canola oil
2-3 fresh garlic cloves, minced
1 lg Walla Walla onion, chopped
4 C vegetable stock (I used Better Than Bouillon 1 T vegetable and 1 T mushroom + 4 C water)
1 tsp sea salt
1 1/2 tsp unsalted butter
1 tsp ground Spanish pimenton# (paprika) or another smoked sweet paprika
1/4 C organic apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp dried bonito*
1/2 – 1 tsp Korean vinegar hot pepper paste (I use SAJO brand – this is used in making kim chee)

Prepare the collard greens by trimming the stems off, soaking and rinsing the greens and tearing the leaves in large strips.
Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium heat, add the onions and saute until they turn golden and get a little caramelized. Add garlic and saute for 2-4 minutes until they are translucent, add the stock and all other ingredients except the collards and bring to a boil, turn down and simmer for 10 minutes. Taste and adjust flavors as needed. Add the collards, bring barely to a boil, turn down the heat to a fast simmer for 30 minutes. You want the collards to still be somewhat green and firm and not mush!

Note: I used not only collards but some spinach and radish tops from my garden that just needed usin’.

*Bonito is a dried fish flavor enhancer use it or not, just adjust the other seasonings to your liking.

On a whim, we bought a pound of steamer clams on Sunday at the Farmer’s Market. I had a recipe in mind to try from a Ming Sigh episode on ginger & cream. It was a good recipe with mussels, I adjusted here and there and used half & half instead of heavy cream, added more coconut milk and served over rice. Add more green curry paste if you like it hotter…if you like it really hot, add some Thai bird chilies. Be sure you have some cool water or beer to drink nearby.
It really hit the spot since the weather turned cool again. I don’t know if our peppers, tomatoes and beans will ever make this year. Isn’t July supposed to be hot?

GREEN COCONUT CURRY CLAMS

Serves 2

1-2 T neutral oil, canola or grapeseed or rice
1 lb steamer clams, cleaned and scrubbed
1 1/2 T ginger and juice, squeeze in a garlic press reserving the juice
1 1/4 T May Ploy green curry paste (or to taste depending on how hot it is)
1 T lime zest
1/2 C half & half
6 oz can of coconut milk
3-5 crimini mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
2 red or white scallions, cleaned and sliced on the diagonal
cilantro for garnish

Heat the oil in a wok or large saucepan over medium high heat. Add ginger and curry and stir for 2 minutes, add lime zest and half & half. Turn down to medium, stir until thickened. Add the clams and cook until the clams open. Remove the clams with a large spider or strainer to a bowl and keep warm.
Add coconut milk, mushrooms and scallions and cook until thickened. Meanwhile, remove the clams from the shells and add back into the thickened soup. Warm the soup and drop in some of the cilantro at the last minute and stir.
Serve over brown or jasmine rice with a garnish of cilantro.

This is one of the wonderful things that Alice Waters brought to California. A simple French tart with fruit. There are so many great cooks that made this kind of a recipe possible. I see Fannie, Julia and James here, too.
Easy to make and easy to eat. Oh, get the best apples you can, please? It’s almost apple season! The way I make it, it is a sweet/slightly salty tart. I use some tart and some sweet apples to help the galette be less juicy and more fruity. I like it that way.

Apple Galette

Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Equipment: 9 1/2″ ceramic tart pan, lightly buttered

Dough:

1 1/4 C all purpose King Arthur flour
1/2 C salted butter, chop in small cubes and keep in fridge until needed
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp white sugar
1/2 C ice water

Combine flour, salt and sugar, sieve butter into flour with your fingers until lightly incorporated. Add water a tablespoon at a time and mix until dough is coming together and pulling away from the sides of the bowl. Pat into a disc and wrap in saran and place in fridge for 1 hour or more. When ready to bake, roll the dough out to a circle about 14″ in diameter and place in the tart pan.

Filling:

4 good size apples, two tart and two sweet (I used 1 granny smith, 1 jazz, 1 pink lady, 1 cameo), peel, core and slice (save peels and cores)
2 T butter, melted
3 T white sugar
1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp cinnamon

There are two methods of slicing the apples and using them in the galette. Either slice and keep the quarter slices together to place in the tart or toss all the slices together. Once you get the apples sliced, put them on the dough. Combine 1 1/2 T sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg and sprinkle over the apples. Pour a little of the melted butter over the apples. Fold the dough over the apples and crimp as needed to make a neat package. Baste the dough with the rest of the butter and sprinkle with the sugar/spice mixture. Bake in center of oven 45 minutes or so until the apples are soft and the crust is a golden brown. Remove from oven and cool on rack 15 minutes.

Glaze:

1/2 C sugar
1/2 C water
apple cores and peels
Fleur de sel

While tart is baking, make glaze in a saucepan. Fast simmer sugar, water and apple cores and peels until syrupy (about 25 minutes). Strain and reserve. Brush syrup all over galette and the fruit in the middle when cool. Sprinkle with a little Fleur de sel.

Topping:

sour cream or ice cream or gelato

Enjoy the galette plain or with sour cream or ice cream or gelato

I made this dish for the “End of School” Party for teachers and paraeducators at the school Sweetie worked at this year. It was a lovely party and I got to meet so many great teachers and paras that help our next generation to get an education.
Deviled eggs just seem to be something that one takes to a summer party. I don’t like the sweet and sloppy deviled eggs of my youth. I have been making this recipe for years in one form or another. I make the basics: eggs, mayo, mustard, salt and sometimes pepper, and add spices and herbs that will please the crowd I am making the dish for. You can, too! Just think of your guests and pick what you think they would like. Here’s my latest….

DEVILED EGGS

6 eggs at room temperature
1 1/2 T mayonnaise
1 T dijon mustard
1/4 – 1/2 tsp chili powder
1/8 tsp each cayenne powder, garlic powder, onion powder
1/4 – 1/2 tsp Coleman’s dry powder mustard
salt to taste
1 1/2 tsp finely diced Bread and Butter pickles
paprika powder
dried dill (if using fresh double amount)

These are all approximate measurements, you will mix and let sit and taste until you approve of the yolk filling.

Start off heating some water (you want enough water that it will be at least 1″ over the eggs) with 1 tsp vinegar in a saucepan where the eggs can all lay on the bottom of the pan. Add the eggs when the water is warm and bring the temperature to a boil. Boil for 8-10 minutes and immediately place the eggs in cold water. Refrigerate for 1 hour and drain and refrigerate for 1 hour. Peel the eggs, wash off and pat dry.

Cut the eggs in half and scoop out the yolk and place in a bowl. Mash the yolk with a fork so you have some pieces. Mix the mayo, mustard, spices and dry mustard together in another bowl until well mixed, add some salt and mix and let sit for a few minutes and taste. This mix should be a little strong as it will be mixed with the yolks.

Add the mayo mix and the pickles to the yolks and gently stir together and either pipe with a decorative tip and bag or just use a teaspoon to fill the egg whites with the yolk mixture. Sprinkle with paprika powder and dried dill. Keep cold until served.

I have made curried eggs, wasabi eggs, Chinese 5 spice, Thai, Italian, Greek, French (with tarragon and white wine), and good old American with French’s mustard. Your basics are mayo, mustard, and salt. Just go from there.

I have been playing around with puff pastry this month ever since I made an apple/raisin/nut strudel with it for my birthday. Since asparagus is in season now, I looked to my refrigerator, freezer and herb garden to come up with some interesting combinations of flavor to add. Here is a simple, creamy, cheesy, herby, tasty tart that you can make in under an hour. It keeps really well as leftovers and heats up in your toaster oven – microwave is less crispy but just fine.
The garden is growing like gangbusters. We increased the height of our boxes to 12″+ and have one more in the works. The lettuce starts that we planted are looking great and we’ll harvest some this week. It’s been so cold and rainy that we got a late start this year. However, our seedlings that are popping up are collards, kale, Olympia spinach, sweet pea, arugula, broccoli rabe, chard and New Zealand spinach. We also have three tomato starts that are looking good: Bush Goliath, Early Cascade and Oregon Spring. I can hardly wait!

Asparagus Cheese Tart

Preheat oven to 400

1 sheet puff pastry, defrosted in the fridge overnight
1 egg at room temperature, beaten
1 C shredded cheese (I used a combination of three white cheeses: sharp cheddar, garlic & black pepper and fontina about 1/3 C each)
1 pound fresh asparagus, washed and pithy base end snapped off (I used slender asparagus, if you have bigger, cut them in half)
2 tsp fresh lemon thyme
1 tsp dill
1-2 tsp lemon zest
2 T fresh chives and chive flowers if you can get them
coarse sea salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 T good extra virgin olive oil

Roll out the puff pastry on a pastry board or sheet to 16″ X 10″ or so. Place on a baking sheet and score the edges 1″ all round but not thru to the bottom. Prick several places over the middle with a fork to keep it from puffing too much. Bake for about 10-13 minutes until it starts to brown. Take out of the oven.
Meanwhile, boil some water and plunge the asparagus in for 1-2 minutes and then place in an ice water bath to cool, drain the asparagus when it’s cool. It should still be bright green.
Brush the pastry edges with the egg wash and spread the cheese on the pastry and drizzle the leftover egg wash over the cheese, add the asparagus and herbs, salt & pepper, drizzle the olive oil over all.
Bake until the edges are golden and the cheese is melted and beginning to bubble about 15-20 minutes. Cool on a baking rack and cut with a pizza cutter.

I could see roasting the asparagus if you had more time. Different cheeses, different herbs, adding caramelized onions or Dijon mustard as a base on the pastry. Some herby pesto anyone?