Fried Zucchini & Squash Blossoms

Hi! I have a confession.......

This summer I've been craving burgers and things fried in beer batter. Not only have I been craving these delicious fatty food stuffs but stuffing myself with them. Maybe its the 5 milers 4-5 times a week, all the fresh garden air or just a robust 30 year-old appetite, but I crave hardcore and once that taste settles into the giant part of my brain that's obsessed with food it does not leave until it's in my belly. On a personal food politic side note I have given up eating beef, I've gone back and forth with vegetarianism, veganism and back to all out carnivore, and oddly enough stopped consuming soymilk in exchange cow's milk or goat milk. In the end it came down to what it should have been in the beginning, cows are too damn cute and CAFOs are wrong. Now strangely enough I still think turkeys, lambs, goats, fish and chickens are cute but I still eat them...we'll tackle Swine on another day. Maybe that will change in a year or two or never, but I do know that my body needs animal protein to function properly. So when the urge strikes for it, I honor it, but I never let that big food part of my brain allow me to overdo it.
So! Back to vegetables. Last night I made the first fried young zucchini, with their blossoms as well as some young spaghetti squash with their blossoms. This year I planned on planting extra squashes exactly for the purpose to fry them. So happy I did! Seeing as I also planted a ton of basil this year I thought...how yummy would basil tops be fried? How good? Food orgasm good. It's a good thing I'm a runner...
You can fry just about any veggie, but there is something so enchanting about consuming a fleeting blossom in the middle of the summer picked moments ago from your garden. You can find blossoms at your local farmers market, get there early and plan to prepare them that day. You can also ask your favorite grower if they have any coming up and make a special request. Definitely ask for the young squashes, the size of your pointer finger, with the blossoms still intact, they taste like the most decadent vegetable entity on the planet.
Fried Zucchini and Spaghetti Squash Blossoms with Basil in Beer Batter
Gather enough small squashes and blossoms to allow for each guest to have 4 each (two small squashes with blossoms and two blossoms, OR if you have a ton make 'em all and have a party!)
You can use big basil leaves and basil tops to. The tops are the most tender however...to properly pinch off a basil top you want to take just below the first set of leaves where you see the split for the second set. Pinch flush with the new set. Big leaves take from the middle of the plant and save and inch or two of the stem.

Beer Batter*

1 cup beer (I like to use National Bohemian, Pabst or Labatts)
1 egg
2 teaspoons salt*
3/4 teaspoons black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne (or less or none depending on your personal relationship with heat)
1 cup floor
1 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
Peanut oil or canola oil for frying

In a medium size bowl whisk the egg really well. Add the seasoning, whisk. Measure and incorporate your flour and baking powder together in a separate bowl.
Gently rinse your squash and blossoms, set aside in a colander.
Heat up a 1/4 inch of oil in a large skillet. While the oil is heating up pre-heat your oven to the warm setting, place a baking sheet in the oven, paper towels are optional (no towels will keep the fried deletables crispy). Arrange your batter and blossoms close to the fry pan. Tongs prepared. Kitchen fans on, windows open...
Ready? Now incorporate your flour/baking powder mixture with the beer, whisk well until smooth. Using a basil leaf as your tester dip it into the batter like you would a floppy paint brush, let the excess drip off and lay it in the pan. It should sizzle, once sizzlin' repeat the process with the rest of your blossoms and basil.
Done-ness: Like pancakes the pieces will puff up, the blossoms will expand like balloons, flip, when you have reached side two they are done when they can be pushed around. Transfer to the sheet in the oven. Repeat until all are done OR serve immediately to your drooling friends. Making sure to save some for yourself. Drink with the beer you made the batter with.
Dips: yogurt, mayo or nothing. They are that good.
*you can use half of the salt if your watching your sodium intake, but then again why are you making this if your "watching" anything?

Welcome to the dark side....
XOMC

......summer......

After summer solstice I become nostalgic for summer's past...swimming at the Clay Hole, catching fireflies, late languishing dinners, itchy sunburns, warm tomatoes from the garden, my Dads coleslaw and burgers, beautiful boredom.....Then I snap back into the now moment and take into account of all that is summer around me; our new home, vegetable gardens, fireflies and foxes, dinners on our back patio/hideout as the sun sets, the relentless mosquito's, Earl's constant fox patrolling, S's euphoric rucus rides around the 'hood.
Relishing in the moment I decided to make two cold salads with the intention to make them last for a few meals. Which is ideal if your going to make your long summer evenings last...meaning not in the kitchen (at least not all the time). Well they were delicious...and I forgot to take photos, but do you really need photos? I mean they're salads...coleslaw and pasta...
I can't take credit for this coleslaw...one of my favorite cooking blogs Smitten Kitchen came up with this one...and it's the coleslaw to end all coleslaw's. So instead of writing it all out just go here.Deb at SK is my new kitchen hero, and there are good pics too! I would imagine you could substitute the parsley for fresh cilantro and if your feeling it some toasted walnuts for garnish. This literally took no-time to whip up and it makes enough for at least 6 people as a side dish. Plus the dressing (incredible!) makes enough for a whole other slaw. I used the raw milk blue cheese crumbles from Whole Foods for the dressing. It was perfect.

Pasta Salad with Basil, Soft Boiled Eggs and Preserved Lemons

Inspired by S's post yoga meal the night prior...I used leftover pasta which made this dinner a snap.

1/2 a box of Conchigliette
3-4 soft boiled eggs
1 cup fresh basil, chopped
Generous handful of green beans cut into diagonal 1/2" pieces
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 of a preserved lemon (or more!) minced with a bit of its oil (about 1 teaspoon)
2 tablespoon's ghee
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

At the same time prepare your eggs and pasta.
Pasta: cook until al dente, rinse with cold water, drain and transfer to a large serving bowl. Toss with a 1/4 teaspoon sea salt and 1/4 pepper and the minced garlic; set aside...
Eggs...bring a pot of water to boil. When boiling, gently add your eggs and boil for 6 minutes. After 6 minutes turn off your heat and let them sit for one minute more. Run under cold water and let them sit in cold water until ready to use.

Chop your basil and green beans, set aside. Mince your lemon, set aside. In a large skillet heat your ghee on medium heat, its ready when a test green bean sizzles...
Add your green beans and saute for 1-2 minutes, add your pasta mixture and saute 1-2 minutes on medium heat, add the lemon and its oil, saute a few more minutes then transfer back into the serving bowl. Toss with the basil. Peel the eggs and slice into 1/4" over the bowl, toss, salt and pepper to taste. Let the dish sit for about 15 minutes to allow for the flavors to meld. Serve at room temperature.

XOMC

Raw Kale Salad with Pecorino

Word is getting around our small Mt. Washington Community that our garden is "Exploding!" "Radioactive!" and all out "Incredible!" Well, it is (besides the radioactive part)! Thanks to a dedicated crew that meet every week to garden, harvest and talk about food.

This week we harvested the first bounty of green beans, green cabbages, turnips, beets, cauliflower and the last of the broccoli; and once again we were able to donate a portion of our harvest to Our Daily Bread.

Even though we did not harvest kale this week, there was much talk about how to prepare it. Kale can be a bit of a tough one to pin down, especially when most of us are more familiar with seeing kale used as a garnish then as an actual dish or meal. Kale is a power house of a green, and if eaten on a regular basis can contribute considerably to lowering cholesterol and reducing your risk of the five most common types of cancers (breast, bladder, colon, ovary and prostate). Kale is considered one of the best foods out there, extremely high in vitamins K, A and C, dietary fiber, tryptophan, maganese...on and on and on. So why you may ask is it used as a garnish to highlight ham and mandarin oranges? Well, sometimes we are just afraid of something new.

Here are some cooking tips to maximize Kale's benefits and get you acquainted with preparing it:

Steaming: (for 1 pound of kale)

Rinse kale leaves under cold running water. Chop leaf portions into 1/2" pieces and the stems into 1/4" pieces. To get the most benefits out of kale, let sit for 5 minutes before steaming. Sprinkling them with lemon juice before letting them sit can further enhance their phytonutrient concentration.

Fill the bottom of a steamer pot with 2" of water. While waiting for the water to boil, prepare your greens. Steam for 5 minutes and toss with a simple dressing of 3 tablespoons olive oil, 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, 1 clove minced garlic, sea salt and pepper to taste.

Optional additions:Sliced onion (steam with kale)
chopped sun-dried tomatoes (toss with dressing)*
chopped olives*
Feta Cheese*
5 drops of tamari*
Some quick serving suggestions: (amount of kale dependant on how many people you are serving)
-Braise kale and toss with chopped apples, hearty splash of balsamic vinegar and chopped walnuts.
-Combine well chopped kale with pine nuts and feta cheese toss with whole grain pasta and olive oil.
-Steam with onions and tofu, add to cooked rice with a drizzle of flax oil, Braggs and pepper.
-chop up well, saute for 5 minutes in olive oil and 1 clove minced garlic, add 2 or more whisked eggs, cook until firm, sprinkle with sea salt and pepper... make an egg sandwich!

Raw Kale-for those who want to move from cooked kale to raw kale...
This by far my favorite way to eat fresh, raw kale. I try to use the smaller more tender kale greens from my garden. If young and tender is not available to you I suggest using the Lacinato Kale variety for this dish a.k.a Dino kale.

Raw Kale Salad with Pecorino
Serves 4 as a side dish
4-5 cups washed and spun kale cut into 1/4" ribbons (woodiest stems removed)
1/2 clove garlic
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, plus a pinch
1/4 grated pecorino cheese, plus more for serving
3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for serving
Freshly squeezed juice of one lemon (scant 1/4 cup)
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes (more or less, depending on your tastes)
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Place kale in a large bowl. Using a mortar and pestle, pound the garlic and salt to make a paste. Transfer to a small bowl. Add the cheese, olive oil, lemon juice, red pepper flakes, black pepper, pinch of salt, whisk well. Pour over the kale and toss well. Let sit for 5 minutes. Serve immediately with extra olive and cheese.

XOMC

Beans, Beets and Sweet Potato Salad with Flax-Maple-Dijon Dressing

It's hot. REALLY HOT (yesterday's heat index 108!). And I STILL get hungry in the heat, but the last thing I want is to sweat over my stove. This is the summer of cool salads that are light enough for the heat, but substantial enough to be a meal. Last night I made this using up some canned beans and a large sweet potato; the last of the "winter" food stuffs. To round it out I added some beets along with romaine and beet greens from the Eric Waller Garden. To really make it yummy I whipped up a Flax-Maple dressing. Delicious!

Flax-Maple-Dijon Dressing
1/2 cup flax oil

3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar2 teaspoons maple syrup
2 teaspoons water
1 tablespoon Dijon
1 tablespoon fresh parsley (dried will work too)
1 clove garlic, pre-minced
generous pinch of sea salt
Place all ingrediants in a blender and blend until well combined.

Beans, Beets and Sweet Potato
Bring a large sauce pot to boil with 1 teaspoon of sea salt
Wash and peel one medium/large sweet potato, cut into 1/2 inch chunks
Wash beets and boil the sweet potato and beets together for about 10 minutes or until easily pierced with a fork
*If you are using large beets peel and quarter. Small beets, under 1.5 inches place with skin on into the pot of boiling water.
Meanwhile drain a can of garbanzo beans and black beans, wash the beans under cold water, drain and place in a large serving bowl.
When the beets and sweet potatoes are done drain and rinse with cold water, drain, add to the beans. *Don't forget to pop the beets from their skins!
Chop up and tear some romaine lettuce along with the beet greens. Wash and spin.
Fetch your dressing and add it all to the beans, beets and sweet potatoes. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes take your mixture from the fridge, stir it up and serve on top of the romaine and beet greens. Serves 2-4

XOMC

Bees

Gotta get me some Honey Bee action!

I contacted Baltimore Honey today to join their honey CSA and hopefully host a hive! They offer a 5 week workshop that starts in early February to educate folks like me who have the dream of having honey bee children of their own. Their CSA is the first of its kind anywhere, what a brilliant idea! For 45 bucks you get a pound of micro-local natural/organic raw honey...sweet sweet sweet.

Some fun honey bee factoids...

•honey bees must visit approximately 2 million flowers to make 1 lb. of honey.
•honey bees pollinate approximately 25% of all the foods humans consume.
•honey bees are the ONLY insects that produce food for humans.
•honey bees have 4 wings that beat 11,400 times per minute.
•honey is one of the oldest foods in existence. It was found in the tomb of King Tut and was still edible.

Support your local bee keeper! Love the bees!
XOMC

Collard Rolls

For three weeks in a row our community vegetable garden,The Eric Waller Community Vegetable Garden , to be precise, has harvested an abundant crop of collards. Collards are a cruciferous vegetable and can boast about their high nutritional value here. Amazing huh? Cancer fighting, detox and anti-inflammatory. Lets grow more collards!
As the members of our flourishing garden stood around the leftover pile of kale and collards contemplating whether or not to take on the challenge of preparing the often over looked green, recipes started to fly. Personally I love collards, they're tough, flavorful and hold their own in any menu situtation. I hope we plant a late summer crop for the fall (hint, hint).

One of my favorite ways to eat collards, especially when you have giant collard leaves like we harvested this weekend, is to make Collard Rolls.
Its a fairly simple recipe, open to numerous interpretations, but the key is to not over blanch the collards!

I like to serve mine with a yogurt sauce mixed with fermented beets/turnips/onions, along with fresh French radishes from my front yard garden and mung bean sprouts to accompany the meal. Lets just say you'll feel like you can fly after eating this!

Collard Rolls
Serves 2-3 adults

You will need:
A large pot of boiling water
A large ice water bath
6-9 big collard leaves, washed, patted dry and the thickest part of the stem removed
Filling: (this is what i used)
1 cup brown rice
2 cups washed and chopped kale (from the community garden)
1 chorizo sausage cut into small pieces
1 small onion, finely chopped
Generous dash of paprika
1/2 of a squeeze of lemon

Saute the chorizo in a small amount of olive oil over medium heat until brown, add onions and saute until translucent, add a generous dash of paprika and lemon juice, saute 1 more minute and add the kale, saute until the kale is bright green and remove from heat, add the rice.
Prepare to blanch your collards. Using your tongs and one leaf at a time, dunk it into the water, count to 20, remove immediately into the ice bath (it helps to have this bath near your stove) transfer to a cutting board and proceed with the others until done.

Similar to spring rolls, roll em' up until you have enough for a meal (one adult can eat about 3). Serve with yogurt, fresh garden veggies and sprouts. Eat! *see pics above for rolling techniques...

Some things I've been making...

Breakfast: Kale (from my front yard garden!), chopped and lightly saute in butter with minced garlic and red pepper flakes. Pour some whipped eggs with salt and fresh cracked pepper, cook like an omelet. Enjoy with toast spread with St. Andre cheese and fruit preserves.

Perfect summer evening meal; Spring rolls with rice vermicelli, baked tofu, shredded carrots, saute greens in coconut oil and peanut dipping sauce.

Baked tofu: one block of firm or extra firm tofu, squeezed of its water. Preheat oven to 350, cut tofu into bit sized rectangles, place in shallow roasting pan and brush with tamari/shoyu or Braggs, bake for 15-25 minutes or until golden brown. Set aside.

Bring a large pot of water to boil (big enough to accommodate spring roll wrappers) when boiling turn off and let sit. While the water cools a bit prepare your vermicelli, drain toss with a bit of sesame oil and place back in pot, cover. Grate 6 medium carrots, saute some chopped greens in coconut oil over medium heat (bok choy, kale, collards etc).

Peanut Sauce: 1 glass jar with lid, 1/4-1/2 cup of crunchy peanut butter, 1-2 teaspoons fresh grated ginger, 1-2 cloves minced garlic, 1/2 teaspoons red pepper flakes, 1 tablespoon tamari, shoyu, Braggs, 1/4 warm water. Place all ingredients in jar, stir and then shake it. I like to make a lot to keep on hand for spring rolls or pasta. Please note, make sure your stir then shake, and use caution when opening, heat tends to cause pressure and a mess. I never measure so adjust according to your personal taste.

Making spring rolls:

Using tongs take one wrapper and dip in the water bath for 3 seconds (hint: you want the wrapper to still look firm, it will soften quickly!) place on a dry cutting board. Near the last third of your wrapper place a bit of all your ingredients roll up like a burrito. Make enough until you have a meal. Eat.

If you make enough fillings you can store everything in your fridge for a quick meal during the week. All you need to do is boil some water and assemble.