grilled asparagus, cherry tomato, and corn salad with basil vinaigrette

The only thing you cook in this salad is the asparagus.

I use my stove top grill pan. Trim the bottoms of the asparagus spears and toss them in a little olive oil and salt and pepper. Get the grill pan hot and then put a single layer on the pan. Grill them for four minutes or so, moving them around so they are heated on all sides. You don't want them to get squishy; just cook them long enough to get some grill marks. Set them aside. When they have cooled, cut them into one inch segments. I like to cut on the bias, which means an angled cut to give them a little flair.

Stand the corn cob on one end and, using a serrated knife, cut the kernels off the cob. (You can save the cobs in the freezer and add them to stocks or soups later.)

Cut the cherry tomatoes in half. Toss everything together in a big bowl and add the basil vinaigrette.

6-8 leaves fresh basil, chopped
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons honey or brown sugar
pinch of salt
1/3 cup olive oil

Blend together using an immersion blender or a regular blender until mixture is emulsified. You may need to add a little more oil. Pour over salad and serve. You also may not need all of the dressing -- your call.

Peace
Milton

beer-battered fairytale eggplant

This past week at the Durham Farmer’s market I came across some beautiful, small, and

variegated eggplant. When I asked the farmer about them, she said they were “fairytale eggplants,” which I then had to buy, of course, merely because of the name. As with most everything else, what was new to me was not new at all. I found this recipe when I got home to start thinking about Thursday Night Dinner and adapted it to suit my needs. I served it with my Summer Peach Marinara and we all ate happily ever after.

oil (for frying)
1 12 oz. bottle of beer (I used Sam Adams because that was what I found in the fridge.)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
16-20 fairytale or miniature eggplants

Gently remove the green stems and then cut the eggplants in half longways. Mix the dry ingredients and add the beer; whisk until it makes a batter. Heat the oil to 350°. Pour the eggplants into the batter and stir to cover them all. When the oil is hot, drop them one at a time into the batter and cook about two minutes a side, or until they are golden brown. You will need to do them in batches. The batter gives them the look of tempura vegetables. 

Peace,

Milton

beet tortilla chips

Ginger and I were in Parker and Otis, one of our favorite stores here in Durham, and they had a bag of beet chips out to sample. They were good. I looked at the ingredient list, came home, did a little research, and made some chips.

I already had some beets handy from our last visit to the Farmer's Market, so I put those on to boil with a couple of cinnamon sticks, a sliced lemon, some peppercorns, and a tablespoon of dried lemongrass -- only because those were things I had in my pantry and fridge. I brought them to a boil and then let them cook about forty minutes. After they cooled a bit (and I saved the beet water, by the way), I peeled them, diced them, and put them into the food processor with about a tablespoon of olive oil and processed them until they were smooth.

I had some Torti Masa on hand from earlier attempts at making tortillas, so I used that as the base. I got it from our local Latino grocery store, Compare Foods, where I go to get lots of fun stuff. Anyway, here's the recipe:

2 cups Torta Masa (Masa harina)
1 1/2 cups puréed beets
1/2 cup beet water
4 tablespoons olive oil
Canola oil (or your choice) for frying

Put the masa in a bowl and add the beet purée and the oil and stir together. Add enough of the beet water to make it come together as a dough. It needs to be wet enough to roll out, but not sticky. Add the water in small batches; you can add more easier than you can take it out.


Preheat the oven to 350. Pinch enough dough for about a one inch ball and then flatten it into a disc. Spread some of the masa on the counter and dust the disc and roll it out so that it is a thin and even circle. Cut it into wedges (you may even want to use a pizza cutter) and place the pieces on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a Silpat. Bake the chips for ten minutes. Let them cool. (You will need to do this in batches; I had about five sheet pans worth.)

Pour about an inch and a half on oil into a saucepan and heat the oil to 350. Fry the baked chips in batches -- don't crowd them. They only need to fry about two minutes or so. Drain on a sheet pan lined with paper towels. Sprinkle with salt while they are still hot and a little oily.

These are vegan chips and are also gluten free.

And they're good.

Peace,
Milton

pumpkin bread stuffed mushrooms

We had an open house for new church members last weekend. Somewhere along the way in my menu planning, this combination came to my mind, so I took a shot -- and it worked. You could use either of the pumpkin bread recipes here or here.
Preheat oven to 375.

18-24 cremini mushrooms
3 Tbsp butter
2 small shallots, chopped fine
2 large garlic clove, minced
2 Tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 cup crumbled pumpkin bread
4 Tbsp white wine
salt and pepper

Separate the stems from the caps, brush the caps clean and set them in a shallow baking dish or baking sheet. Dice the mushroom stems into a small pieces. Melt the butter in a sauté pan and add the stems, shallots, and garlic. Cook until shallots are translucent and mushrooms are soft -- 3-4 minutes. Add rosemary and pumpkin bread. Let the bread soak up the butter and then add the wine; cook the whole mixture another 3-4 minutes. Season to taste.

At this point, you have choices beyond what I did with my mushrooms. You can add other herbs (thyme, oregano), diced apples (Granny Smiths might give a little tartness), walnuts or pine nuts, or even bacon. You can also pulse the mixture in the food processor to make it more of a paste. I chose the chunky style and spooned it right out of the pan (after it cooled a little) into the mushroom caps.

Cook the mushrooms uncovered for about twenty minutes; let them rest for about five minutes before serving.

Peace
Milton

vegan pumpkin bread

Here is the vegan version, which also uses dark beer. The process is very similar to the other pumpkin bread; the difference is in the details.

Preheat the oven to 350. Grease two 9 x 5 loaf pans or six small loaf pans.

3 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Mix the dry ingredients together and whisk until smooth. In a stand mixer, blend together

2/3 cup vegetable shortening, melted
2 cups brown sugar
2 cups (1 can) pumpkin puree
2/3 cup dark beer or stout
1/4 cup molasses
1 teaspoon vanilla

When wet ingredients are combined, put mixer on low and add dry mixture until well blended. Spoon into pans and bake.

Large pans: one hour, or until cake tester comes out clean.
Small pans: thirty minutes, or until cake tester comes out clean.

Peace
Milton