Kale-Sauce Pasta

I found this recipe in The New York Times a couple years ago and it has been in regular rotation ever since because

1. It is delicious.

2. It is easy.

3. It uses pantry staples. 

4. It's a complete balanced meal if you need it to be. 

I've used it as a side-dish to fish or grilled meat. Here we are having cold grilled turkey leftover from a birthday dinner. It's great for using up scrappy pieces of kale and if the stems are not too thick, I don't even bother stemming the leaves anyway.

 I've used all kinds of pasta to make this. Sometimes I increase the sauce amounts to use a full pound of pasta because my people eat a lot of food these days. 

I'm also cooking outside on a single-burner induction cooktop to keep the steamy heat out of the house. I keep hotpads and an extension cord right in the drawer there. 

I've made this in kitchens in summer vacation houses - just check first that there's a blender or something like it.  

Kale-Sauce Pasta

1. In large pot of salted boiling water, blanch 1/2-1lb. kale, thick ribs removed.

2. Meanwhile, heat 1/4 cup olive oil in small pan and gently over low heat cook 2-3 garlic cloves, chopped coarsely. When I can smell the delicious garlic scent and small bubbles are forming around the pieces, I pull it off the heat. Definitely do not let it brown!

3. Pour garlic oil with garlic in blender. 

4. Fish kale out of water with tongs and add to blender. 

5. Add 1/4 cup hot kale water. Add 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan. 

6. Puree. It will be a lovely green!
7. Cook 1/2-3/4lb. pasta in the same hot kale water. 

8. Mix kale sauce and hot pasta, adding freshly ground pepper to taste, as well as more salt and Parmesan as desired. 

Barbecued Chicken

You guys.  I am so overwhelmed by my life right now that I'm treating myself to a few minutes of blog time to cope.  Plus, you need to know that this chicken is delicious and pretty fool-proof and pretty easy.  It's your basic American delicious kind that wants to have all the fresh veggies beside it and some potato salad.  It's not fancy, just satisfyingly good.

I hope you can get some on the grill before grilling season is over.  The overnight brine/marinade is the key to succulent chicken, and the BBQ sauce gets put on at the end of grilling for just enough char.

I see that my sidedish here is coleslaw with wakame (seaweed) in it - a happy discovery from our Maine vacation.  Which, I'm sorry, will have to wait for another post because I need to go wake the napper and pick the big kids up from the pool.  August, you are nuts.


Summer BBQ Chicken

Marinate overnight in the fridge:
3-4 lbs. chicken parts, bone in, skin on
1-2 cups thin yogurt, kefir, or buttermilk
1 Tbsp. salt

At some point, mix up the BBQ sauce in a small saucepan:
1 cup ketchup
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp. paprika (bonus if it's smoked!)
1 Tbsp. chili powder
2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. cayenne, or to taste, optional

Simmer sauce for 5-8 minutes.  Cool.  Keep in jar in fridge. Enough for 9 lbs. chicken or for other recipes.  (You could probably use commercial BBQ sauce - I don't keep it on hand.)

So, back to the marinating chicken. . .
Thirty minutes before grill time (about 1 hour 10 minutes before you want delicious hot chicken), drain off and discard marinade.  Allow chicken to sit at room temp for 30 minutes.

Preheat grill to 400F.  Sear chicken pieces on each side, about 3-4 minutes a side.
Turn heat to low/med and grill for 30 minutes without flipping or peeking. Turn pieces.  Brush topside with BBQ sauce. Continue to grill for 5 minutes.  Flip pieces.  Brush topsides with BBQ sauce.  Grill 5 more minutes.  Done!

Sunday Dinner: Amish, with Red Beet Eggs and Apple Butter

I went all Pennsylvania-Dutch with this Amish Sunday dinner.  I marinated hardboiled eggs in my canned red beet brine, and set out tomatoes, lettuce, cheese, bread, and apple butter.  

I think my husband got out the mayo, too, and made himself a tomato sandwich (looks like he got out the wine, too!).  But we all ate various combinations.  I experimented with cheese and apple butter, and it was wonderful!  Until now, I had used apple butter like a spread on toast, or dolloped on cottage cheese as you find on the food buffets around here. But I now highly recommend that you make some cheese toast and spread some apple butter on top - it's been my breakfast for a few mornings running.

This was the Sunday dinner where I had made a pie, a French fruit tart with blueberries and blackberries. It did not photograph well, nor was it popular with the kids for various reasons.  Humph.

Summer Fried Rice

Previous to Smitten Kitchen's post, I thought of fried rice as just the Asian kind with Asian flavors like soy sauce, ginger, snow peas, the like.  But Deb's version just about matched the food that needed to be used up at my house, so I plunged in.

This was the kids' supper when my husband and I were leaving them with a babysitter to go out for dinner. I snitched a few bites before we left, and boy, I was so glad there were leftovers.  I had asked Genevieve if she wanted to make mac and cheese, or if I should do something; this fried rice was so easy, I didn't mind when she demurred.

 Here's how I made it.

Summer Fried Rice

Sauteed an onion in the wok in oil. Salt and pepper.

Added a large zucchini, chopped. Salt and pepper (Deb insists that seasoning each addition is crucial for flavor).

When that was hot but not soft (a few minutes), I added about 2 cups leftover rice, plus maybe a half-cup of corn.  A large tomato, chopped, and several sprigs of fresh thyme, chopped.  More salt and pepper.
When everything was hot, I set it aside and fried eggs for each person to go on top (this recipe serves 4-ish). Then there was about 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan, some mixed into the fried rice, and some sprinkled on top of the egg.

Also, I like to set out ingredients for supper in the morning.  It's a visual comfort to see that supper is already in progress, plus it reserves those ingredients from the hungry hordes in my house and frees up fridge space. It may look like a tiny step to set a few things out on the counter, but it represents a much bigger step:  deciding what's for supper.

Here we have rice and corn in the leftover container, onion in the jar, and eggs, tomatoes, and zucchini waiting for the fried rice.  Supper decision is made, hallelujah!

The Very Interesting Patagonian Hot Dog

I love to eat adventurously, but I don't have many adventures when it comes to hot dogs.  I usually have some combination of ketchup, mustard, chopped onion, pickle relish, and sauerkraut.

 But when I read about the Patagonian hot dog, I started hunting down ingredients immediately because I am inevitably attracted to weird recipes.  I am excited to tell you that this one is a winner!

Patagonia is the region at the bottom of South America (Chile and Argentina), and apparently, these toppings make up their standard hot dog.  I did ask my aunt who lives in Ecuador if she had heard of them, and she hadn't, so maybe the Patagonian hot dogs are skipping over the rest of South America and enthralling the USA.

You will need:

avocado mayo (recipe below)

sauerkraut

chopped tomatoes

chopped cilantro

hot dogs

hot dog buns

Put all these toppings on a grilled hot dog and you may not even think of ketchup and mustard for hot dogs again.  So good!  I even bought a can of sauerkraut for these dogs since my homemade stuff is long gone and the fall cabbages are a ways off yet.  

Avocado Mayo

In a food processor, puree:

1 ripe avocado, peeled and pitted

1/3 c. mayonnaise

1 Tbsp. pickled jalapeno (or use fresh jalapeno and add some vinegar or lemon juice)

1 scallion, chopped

1 garlic clove

pinch salt

1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper

Notes: Feel free to adjust the spiciness level to your liking, although mine turned out spicy and it was so good that way (but too much for Phoebe, sadly). The avocado mayo will keep in the fridge for about a week.  It's an excellent condiment for sandwiches or atop rice and beans or slathered on tomato slices.

"French" Fruit Tart

The Frenchiness here is of the 1980s variety, that was meant to make something sound fancy.  The original recipe was on the back of the Bisquick box, so we can all predict the results, right? But no.  This is a perfect trifecta of flavors and textures: salty/buttery crust, luscious middle with the best of cream cheese and heavy cream, and whatever wonderful perfect fresh fruit is in season on top.

And look, the ingredients are simple, practically pantry staples, and the method is also very simple.  I mean really.  This is me raving.  I highly recommend that you make this tart!

The only downside is that it is best eaten several hours after it is made, or possibly the day after for particularly smitten eaters.

"French" Fruit Tart - adapted from a recipe I found on The Kitchn

Make the tart crust.
Cut together:
1 cup all-purpose flour (I use up to 2/3 WW pastry flour)
1/3 cup butter
2 Tbsp. powdered sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
Press mixture into 9 or 10" tart pan or pie pan.  Prick bottom with fork.  Bake at 425F for 10ish minutes.  Set aside to cool.

When the crust is cool, whip in a mixing bowl:
8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Add and beat to soft peaks.  Do not overbeat:
1 cup heavy whipping cream

Dollop and spread filling in crust.  Top gently with fresh sliced berries or other seasonal fruit, arranged in a pattern or sprinkled over in a single layer.  Brush with some melted apple jelly or simple syrup (I use simple syrup - heat together 1/2 cup sugar and 1/4 cup water until dissolved, then cool and keep in fridge).  Sometimes I don't bother brushing anything on the fruit.
Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before slicing and serving.

This tart really needs a better name.  Suggestions?

Summer Tomato Pie

I love this pie so much - its prep is straightforward, its ingredients are simple, and the flavor is wow! SUMMER.  Furthermore, I adapted the pie recipe that was recommended to me for my slow cooker because it's summer and the heat index was 104 degrees F today.  I use my slow cooker a lot in the summer - I run the extension cord out through the kitchen window and set the cooker on the table outside.

With this pie, I served our very own garden green beans (very proud of that!) with brown butter, and sweet basil ice cream with pine nut pralines for dessert.  Yes, truly.  That supper was the essence of summer for me.

Summer Tomato Pie

Line a 6-quart oval slow cooker with a crust for a 9" pie - bring it up the sides about 2".  I don't crimp it and the edges are definitely rustic. Prick bottom of crust with a fork.

Turn cooker on High for 30 minutes with lid propped open or cocked.

Meanwhile, prepare the filling.

Thinly slice 3 medium-to-large tomatoes. Sprinkle evenly with 2 tsp. salt and lay in a colander or other porous container in the sink.  You must draw some of the water out of the tomatoes or your pie will be too soupy.  Allow the tomatoes to drain for at least 10 minutes.  Blot moisture gently with a paper towel or old kitchen towel.

After the crust has baked for 30 minutes, carefully (the crock will be hot) layer the filling ingredients below in about 3 layers, ending with cheese.

sliced, salted, drained tomatoes
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil
1 tsp. dried basil
1/2 cup grated nutty cheddar like Dubliner, or freshly grated Parmesan
3/4 cup grated mozzarella

Then, dollop 1/4 cup mayonnaise in tiny dollops around the top and gingerly spread it over the top layer of cheese.  Aim to get it distributed as evenly as possible, but don't stress.  It's summer!

Put the lid on the cooker (not cocked this time) and keep it on High for 1 1/2 hours.  The crust should be crisp where it shows at the sides, the cheese melted, and some tomato juice bubbling.  Remove the slow cooker lid and keep it on High for 15 minutes to evaporate some juice.  Remove crock from cooking unit and allow pie to set for as much time as you have before you want to eat. The longer it sits, the more it firms up (we ate ours hot about 10 minutes after it was done due to hungry kids, so the second helpings were much easier to serve). Serve warm or room temperature.

Pickled Peppers

I guess I never thought beyond the tongue-twister ("Peter Piper picked a peck. . . ") to consider pickled peppers a real food.  My friend Naomi not only gave me a bag of banana peppers from her garden, she also gave me a little jar of pickled peppers and advised me to eat them on sandwiches.  So good!  And so easy.  

These are fridge pickles, meant to be kept in the fridge only and not canned.  As long as you use a clean utensil to dip into them, they should keep well for weeks.

Pickled Peppers

2 cups white vinegar

6 Tbsp. salt

1/4 cup olive oil

 6 Tbsp. water

1-2 garlic cloves, chopped fine

sliced, seeded peppers

Use time/mixing or some heat to dissolve the salt in the vinegar.  If you use heat, allow mixture to cool before adding the rest of the ingredients.  Use a mixture of hot or sweet peppers as you prefer and make sure the brine covers them; Naomi and I used banana peppers which are mostly mild, a little spicy here and there.  Store in the fridge in a covered container.

What else would you do with pickled peppers besides sandwiches?  I'm all ears.

A Simple Peach Tartine

I would have called this "cheese toast with peaches" but the internets have informed me that this is called a "tartine."  I like that fancy word!

A slice of homemade sourdough bread, a slice of sweet sharp Dubliner, toasted together.  Then I put some sweet luscious peach slices over top.  Just wonderful.  Peaches are typically paired with a very mild cheese like ricotta, but I think they are assertive enough to partner the nutty cheddar.  This was a quick bite before I left for a bridal shower one evening, and it's been repeated as breakfast several times.

Vietnamese Rice Noodle Salad

Here, as promised, is my version of Vietnamese rice noodle salad.  I first found the recipe in Molly Wizenberg's book Delancey, which I really enjoyed.  She's an excellent writer and some of her recipes are amazing - this is one of them.

Tonight when I reached in the pantry, I came out with Chinese egg noodles and I thought as long as there was some noodle element, it was fine.  Actually, some people would probably prefer this set-up with rice or with no carb at all.  My two cents is that if you're going to buy noodles at an Asian store as I do, make sure the translation of the cooking directions on the package is clear enough.  Some rice noodles like to be soaked, some like to be boiled, some need to be rinsed - I just follow the package directions.

cabbage (purple would have been prettier), cilantro, the first cucumber from our garden (!), cold BBQ chicken from the 4th of July, broccoli and cauliflower, Thai basil from the porch pot

We love this as a summer meal, using whatever veggies and herbs are available.  I fry the onions outside on the grill burner to keep the smell and heat outside.

Vietnamese Rice Noodle Salad (serves 4-6)

Mix for dressing and set aside:

3 Tbsp. fish sauce

juice and zest of one large lime

3 Tbsp. brown sugar

4 Tbsp. water

1 garlic clove, minced

few squirts siriacha, to taste

An hour before you want to eat:

Thinly slice a large onion in rings.  Place in a bowl with ice water.  Set aside.

Prepare rice noodles (1/2-1 lb.) depending if you want them hot or cold or room temperature.  I go for room temperature because it's the least fussy.  Also, some rice noodles seem to develop a strange tough texture when chilled.

Prepare whatever raw Asian-ish veggies and herbs you have: cucumber, carrot, sprouts, cabbage, Thai basil, cilantro, mint.  Arrange on a platter.  Optionally, prepare cold sliced meat and chopped peanuts, too (I usually do one or the other).

Ten or fifteen minutes before dinner, drain onions from ice water.  Heat 1/2" oil in large frying pan.  Pat onions dry.  Dredge gently in 1/2 cup flour mixed with 1 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper.  Fry onions, turning to get both sides and not worrying if they stick together (but don't crowd the pan or they will steam instead of browning crisp - do two batches if you need to).  Drain on cooling rack or paper towels.  Serve hot.

Assemble salad with noodles, veggies/herbs, fried onions, and dressing over all. 

 

Our Standard Summer Supper

When the corn comes in, I usually pick up a dozen at least once a week and that's supper.  I add a real vegetable (corn is a starch in my menu planning) and a protein.  Here we had panzanella.

My big kids husk the corn.  Then I either grill it or use the grill burner to boil it.  Pretty fast and there's no heat added to the kitchen.

This evening we're having grilled corn, green beans with brown butter, and caprese salad.

And sunflowers from my husband, a treat in the middle-aged marriage.

Do you have a standard summer supper?

Pittsburgh Salads and Chilled Tomato Soup

My husband was yearning to put something on the grill, so we started up the steak marinade and put a big sirloin steak on the grill.  So big that we had leftovers, which always trips my switch to make Pittsburgh salads.

According to my sister-in-law who comes from a small town near Pittsburgh, if you put fries on something, that makes it "Pittsburgh."  My version of this salad is based on one I ate at a restaurant.  On top of a green salad, I put slices of steak, roasted potatoes, tomatoes, and blue cheese dressing.  It's divine. 

And a note on the blue cheese dressing: I just mash up really good blue cheese with a bit of yogurt or kefir until it's a nice pourable texture.  Simple.

But I wasn't in the mood to buy out-of-season tomatoes for the salad, so I decided to make tomato soup and serve it chilled for the hot day.  It was excellent.  

In fact, one of my friends made me an Indian soup that has induced labor 2 out of 3 times (didn't work for me!), and one day I just pulled it out of the fridge and ate it cold.  It was also excellent.  

Now I have a new idea for summer:  serve any old pureed soup well-chilled, a fabulous savory smoothie eaten with a spoon.

We Call It Creamed Corn

The hipsters call it "fresh corn polenta."  Run raw ears of corn over a grater or a corn creamer, melt some butter in a saucepan, put the corn glop and liquid in, and cook until thickened.  Salt generously.

Around here, creamed corn is eaten as a side dish, usually at a meal where there are mashed potatoes also.  Some people really like their baby food carbs!

However, I got the idea from the hipsters to serve a dippy egg over the creamed corn, with a few shavings of Parmesan, some herbs, and a lot of black pepper.  So delicious, I even repeated it for breakfast with a sliced tomato on the side.

Here, you see our own garden green beans with brown butter and another salad from Real Simple.  Watermelon with a vinaigrette, pistachios, green olives, and feta.  It was strangely tasty, but the leftovers were not good (soft nuts, weeping watermelon).

Pickles

We dearly love pickles, and this year I think I finally preserved plenty.

vintage crinkler from a quick trip to Virginia

22 quarts dills
6 quarts bread-and-butter (recipe from Mennonite Community)
12 pints not-so-sweet bread-and-butter (from Tart and Sweet, a library book I browsed)
9 pints pickled red beets + 3 quarts brine for marinating eggs

I waterbathed all of them to ensure a long-lasting seal.  I did this on the burner on my outside grill, setting the jars on a nearby table in a sheltered spot to cool.  At this point in the summer, my routine is familiar and automatic.  The big things on my preserving list yet are applesauce and all the tomato products.  The growing season started late this spring, and now our cool weather might shorten it on this end, so it's possible I may not get enough tomatoes to make salsa, ketchup, pizza sauce, and tomato soup in addition to canning whole tomatoes.  In any case, we have enough pickles!