So simple, so easy and so delicious. How hard is it to carefully brown the butter, add a squeeze of lemon and pinch of sage? Answer: It’s not hard at all. There is, however, one tricky bit. You must properly apply the sauce to your pasta. This means using a light hand. You are letting the butter sauce envelope the pasta. Never drown it!
This makes a perfect sauce for pumpkin or butternut squash ravioli.
Brown Butter Sauce
for 10-15 ravioli
4 Tablespoons top notch butter
juice of half a lemon
1-2 Tablespoons cream
1-2 small sage leaves, each leaf cut into 3 pieces
a small pinch of nutmeg, freshly grated
Parmigiano-Reggiano, to top
In a small heavy-bottomed sauce pan, brown the butter slowly over moderate heat. As the butter turns a lovely golden brown, you will notice a faint toasty-nutty scent. Immediately add the juice of half a lemon, sage leaves and a small pinch of nutmeg grated directly into the sauce. Swirl to combine. Reduce to a low heat. Add cream. Swirl again and turn off the heat. Remove the sage pieces and add pasta. Gently coat the pasta in the sauce. Plate each ravioli. Allow any remaining sauce to stay in the pan. Top lightly with very finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano.
Eat immediately!
Buon Appetito!
If you’re looking for massive amounts of tomatoes, go with cherries and plums. Without a doubt, this year we harvested more tomatoes than ever before. We picked over 6 baskets (6-8 cups each) of cherry and plum tomatoes alone. We also had the best batch of Black Krim tomatoes with over 10 gorgeous and very large tomatoes. And, we picked about 10 Golden Jubilee. There would have been more, but, a couple over-ripened on the vine.
The Sun Gold cherries and black plum tomatoes were the most rugged of the bunch. Followed by the Super Sweet 100s, they were the last three types of tomatoes to keep producing fruit.
Now that we’re relying on store-bought tomatoes, we’re getting more creative to bring out the flavor of season’s end produce. This one is lovely. We’ve adapted it from Bon Apetit’s recipe.
Bloody Mary Salad
serves 2
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
2-3 Roma tomatoes, cut into wedges
1 small cucumber, diced
1 stalk celery, sliced
Bloody Mary Vinaigrette
1 small red onion, finely diced
1/2 cup your favorite green olives, pimento or jalapeño stuffed
1 clove garlic, crushed
3 Tablespoons sherry or red wine vinegar
1/4 cup your favorite olive oil
1 ounce vodka
splash of Worcestershire sauce
splash your favorite hot sauce
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon celery seeds
1/4 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
fine sea salt, to taste
In a large bowl, mix tomatoes, cucumber and celery. Set aside.
In a mason jar (or any sealable vinaigrette bottle), combine all vinaigrette ingredients. Seal and shake vigorously. Drizzle over salad and toss to combine. Pour into salad bowl. Serve with slices of grilled bread and steaks (or grilled chicken, or lamb chops or pork chops).
These round Korean squash were a real find. They were very similar to zucchini. But, they’re prettier, lighter green, slightly sweeter and more tender. Best of all, one good sized squash makes a perfect side dish for two people. I’d buy them again any day.
Sautéed Korean Squash
makes side dish for 2
1 Korean squash, washed and sliced into thin wedges
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 Tablespoon peanut oil
splash of hot sesame oil
splash of soy sauce
salt & pepper, to taste
Sauté onion slices in peanut oil briefly. Add squash, hot sesame oil and a splash of soy. Sauté for 1-2 minutes. Taste. Season with salt and pepper. Plate and serve immediately.
So simple & delicious.
Almost always, the simple things are the best things. A freshly picked fig rarely makes it out of the garden and into the house. Normally, we stop where we stand and eat them instantly. On the rare occasion a fig does make it into the house, this simple recipe is one of the best.
Fig, Bleu Cheese & Honey
fresh figs, halved
bleu cheese wedge
your favorite honey
(my current favorite is chestnut honey from Alon’s)
walnut halves
freshly ground black pepper, if desired
Serve figs, bleu cheese, walnuts and honey on a cutting board or platter. Build each bite as you go. Or, nibble any pair of ingredients on their own. Just be sure to get one bite of fig, bleu cheese and honey on your first bite.
After fighting the army of squirrels, chipmunks and birds, this was our biggest fig harvest of the year. All summer we were lucky to get 3 or 4 figs at one time. And, there are a handful of kadota figs that refuse to ripen this year.
There’s always something in bloom. If you have allergies, some of those things are more bothersome than others. Is it goldenrod aggravating your allergies or common ragweed? It’s probably the more ordinary looking common ragweed that’s a problem for you given the nature of its pollen. The pollen of goldenrod is sticky. This requires an insect (like a bee) to carry its pollen. Common ragweed sends dry pollen into the air to be dispersed by a light breeze. This is the pollen we breath and inhale.
My allergies are quite mild. And, I’ve found a simple solution.
Bee Pollen & Raw Honey
serves 1
1 heaping teaspoon of your favorite local raw honey
1 teaspoon local bee pollen
Sprinkle bee pollen over the spoonful of honey. Or, just carefully dip your spoon into the bee pollen being careful to keep the honey on your spoon. To be sure that your allergies aren’t too severe. Try a couple granules (up to a 1/4 teaspoon) of bee pollen before eating a whole spoonful.
Another great excuse to visit your local farmer’s market!
Local honey and bee pollen work the best. They’re most likely to contain the pollen that is aggravating your allergies.
Psst…
Another great snack is a little bowl of Greek yogurt drizzled with honey and topped with a sprinkle of bee pollen.
Try it! You’ll like it.
The summer is coming to a close.
So, now’s the time to grab all of the fresh vegetables that you can. We had tons of baby greens, gorgeous tomatoes, radishes, cucumbers, spring onions, cilantro and lime. So, we paired our grilled corn with a big plate of salad greens. With bowls on the side, we each built our own salad to our tastes.
Even including the time to heat up the grill, this meal took less than 30 minutes from start to finish. As the grill heats, prep your salad greens and crumble your cheese. That’s really all there is to this meal.
Grilled Corn With Queso Fresco
6 stalks of corn, shucked and washed
1/4 lb queso fresco, freshly crumbled
mayo
cayenne or chili powder of your choice
lime wedges, if desired
Preheat the grill for at least 5-7 minutes. Place corn on the grill and cover. Grill for 5-6 minutes. Turn. Grill until corn is tender and the marks are to your liking. Place one piece of grilled corn on each plate. Brush each piece with mayo. Then, sprinkle on the queso fresco and chili powder. Serve lime wedges on the side, if desired. (You can add a sprinkle of finely chopped cilantro, too.)
Drizzle each salad with olive oil and lime juice. Add a sprinkle of chili powder, fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Purple Potatoes
I love them. But, I don’t love the way they fade and bleed into soups and stews. So, I tried something different. I nuked them. Three minutes for the first try. And, then they went back into the nuker for another 2-3 minutes. Cook til fork tender. And, guess what? When they were done, they still possesed the gorgeous purple color that I love.
Usually, my microwave oven is reserved for the sole task of making popcorn. Now, it has two tasks.
Purple Potato Salad
makes 1 large salad
6-8 small purple potatoes, cooked to be fork tender
1 hard boiled egg, peeled and diced
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
1 green onion, finely chopped
dollop mayonaise
grind of fresh black pepper
pinch fine sea salt
pinch smoked paprika or cayenne, to garnish
dill, roughly diced, to garnish
Combine all in a medium sized bowl. Stir to combine. Plate. Sprinkle with smoked paprika and dill.
Lunch time!
Do you want to make it a bit heartier? Add a handful of freshly boiled shrimp.
Blue cheese and pear turn an ordinary salad into something special. Personally, I think walnut and walnut oil are the best choice. But, pistachios and olive oil would be lovely, too. Some other choices might be roasted almond, hazelnut or macadamia nut. Hemp seeds would be fun to try as well.
Walnut & Pear Salad
makes 1 small bowl
A mix of baby letuce, well-washed and trimmed
1 pear, thinly sliced
roasted walnuts or roasted maple glazed walnuts
blue cheese crumbles
black pepper, freshly ground
Arrange baby lettuce in a small bowl. Top with pear slices and roasted walnuts. Grind whole black peppercorns over it all.
Walnut Vinaigrette
makes about 1 heaping cup
1/3 cup roasted walnut oil
1/4 cup sherry vinegar
1/4 cup walnuts, raw
1 Tablespoon maple syrup
1 small shallot, trimmed and cut in half
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
In a powerful blender, combine all ingredients. Pulse until creamy. Pour into vinaigrette flask. Serve vinaigrette on the side and pour just before eating.
We’re going to miss these Sun Gold cherry tomatoes.
Out of this mix of black cherry, black plums, Sun Gold cherry, Juliet’s, Tami G’s, and Super Sweet 100 tomatoes. The Super Sweet 100’s and the Tami G’s find their way into my recipes. The Sun Gold and Juliet tomatoes are just too good. They demand to be the focus of any meal or snack.
6 Cups Of Cherry Tomatoes
Reserve 2 cups of cherry tomatoes. Cut each tomato in half and set aside.
This could be so many things. It could be an Italian style salsa, a cold sauce for pasta salad, or a gently cooked marinara sauce.
…Or, It could be poured over chicken, fish or meatballs before baking for a quick weekday meal. It would make a lovely base sauce for a quick stew, too. There are countless uses and adaptations. Find your favorite.
Cherry Tomato Sauce
makes 1 big pot
6 cups cherry tomatoes, 2 cups reserved and cut in half
1 jalapeño, cut in half, seeds removed
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 Vidalia onion, finely diced
2 stalks celery, finely diced
1 handful basil leaves, roughly chopped
2 oregano leaves, finely minced
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
fine sea salt
Place 4 cups of cherry tomatoes in food processor with 1 jalapeño, and 3 cloves of garlic. Pulse to a fine puree.
For a salsa:
Add reserved tomatoes, onions, basil, oregano, red pepper flakes, black pepper and sea salt. Pulse for about two seconds to combine. Allow chunks to remain. Serve immediately.
For a sauce:
Saute onions in olive oil until light golden brown. Then, add pureed sauce, reserved tomatoes, onions, basil, oregano, red pepper flakes, black pepper, and sea salt. Bring to a simmer and simmer gently for 10-15 minutes.
For a baked chicken dish:
Add 2-3 Tablespoons capers, 1 sliced red peppers, and sliced hot banana peppers (or other spicy pepper) to taste.
There’s no denying the genius of barbecue in all of its forms. But, Texas style barbecue has something special. It’s the combination of smoky meat and black pepper spice. Those two things just belong together.
Texas Style BBQ Sauce
makes about 4 cups
2 cups ketchup
1 cup coffee (or chicken stock)
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup brown sugar
splash Worcestershire sauce
1 Tablespoon black pepper, coarsely ground
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon pasilla chili powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
In a medium saucepan combine all ingredients and bring to a simmer. Simmer gently for 10-15 minutes. Let cool or use immediately. You decide. Serve sauce on the side of grilled or smoked meats.
–OR–
Brush the sauce on your grilled or smoked meat of choice approximately 10-15 minutes before they’re done cooking. Allow more time for slower cooking temperatures. Be careful. The sugars will caramelize quickly under high heat.
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