The Pleasures of Summer

My friend Susan always said that summer was my season.

And even though June, July and August are scorching hot months here in Texas, summer does bring out something special in me. 

Summer is a season for living easy and feeling good.  It's simpler to dress in the summer -- tank tops and shorts are the norm in these parts --meals are lighter, schedules more relaxed. It's a great time for slowing down, sleeping in and enjoying the languid pace of a day. 

Summer is also a good time to enjoy the pleasures of life and use all of our senses -- to encourage ourselves to take moments out of each day to see, hear, touch, smell, and taste lots of different things.

In summer there is a lot of pleasure to be had in food. Here is my top ten list of favorite (food) pleasures of summer:

1. Fresh basil layered with sliced tomatoes and buffalo mozzarella and drizzled with olive oil -- I know its getting to be where you see this everywhere....but who can resist this dish when all its elements are in peak season?
2. Farmer's markets bursting with every flavor, texture and color under the sun
3. Cold, refreshing cocktails (like the incredible Lemon Basil Vodka Gimlet below)
4. Eating outside under a setting sun
5. Cold slices of watermelon sprinkled with a little salt (the way my grandfather used to eat it)
6. Staying up late and serving dinner whenever the mood strikes
7. Ice cold iced tea in a tall glass with mint
8. Homemade ice cream and fresh peaches
9. Pool parties with everyone bringing their favorite dish
10. Juicy red strawberries -- on their own or dipped in melted chocolate

This is just my top ten, the list could go on forever.  I hope you have your own list and are taking the time to enjoy the simple pleasures of summer!

    

Lemon Basil Vodka Gimlets

Serves 8
Or as my friend Cindy (who gave me this recipe) likes to say, serves 4 with refills

Ingredients

(for the lemon basil simple syrup)

• 4 cups packed fresh basil sprigs (top 4 inches; from a 1/2-pound bunch) 

• 4 cups water
• 
2 cups sugar

• 9 (4- by 1-inch) strips lemon zest, with the bitter, white pith cut off

(for the gimlets)

• 2 cups basil lemon syrup
• 
1 1/2 cups vodka 

• 1 1/2 cups fresh lemon juice (from about 15 lemons)
• 
ice cubes
• 
sprigs of basil
• 
thin slices of lemon

To make

First make the infused simple syrup: 

Bring all ingredients to a boil in a medium saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved.
Let stand at room temperature, covered, 1 hour, then transfer to an airtight container and chill until cold, about 1 hour.
Strain syrup thourough a sieve into a bowl, pressing hard on and then discarding solids. The resulting syrup is a really pretty greenish yellow.  It keeps, covered and chilled for a least a week.

Next squeeze the lemon juice.  Roll them on the counter first.  It loosen the fibers inside and when you squeeze them, you'll get more juice.  Strain the juice to remove any seeds and place in the refrigerator to chill.  This can be done up to 5 days in advance.

To make the gimlets:

Stir together all ingredients in a pitcher, then strain into 8- to 10-ounce glasses (such as Old Fashioned) filled with ice.  Garnish with the fresh basil sprigs and lemon slices.  Alternately you could shake the gimlets in a cocktail shaker and serve them in a martini glass rimmed with sugar that has been mixed with grated lemon zest.

Beating the Heat

By anyone's measure, this has been one hot summer here in Austin. To beat the heat, we have sought out lakes and pools, gone bowling, holed up in movie theatres...done anything to escape the hot air trapped over our city by a stalled-out high pressure system that refuses to budge.

But after 30 days of scorching heat, relentless sunshine and dry winds we were all getting a little edgy. It's harder to go out for a walk or run, our kids melt after a few hours of outside play, all our dogs can do is sleep. And no matter how much we water them, our potted plants look wilted and forlorn - they are no match for these 100 degree days.

Since we can't do anything about it -- we live in Texas after all -- we decided to try to be more positive in our thinking about the heat, or at least try our best to ignore it.

We put out a pot in the kitchen and if anyone complains about the heat, they have to put 50 cents in the kitty. The person with the fewest complaints gets the pot at the end of the month.

It seems to be working pretty well. There is a bit of loose change in the bottom, but the little pot remains almost empty.  We've found that the less we talk about the heat, the less it affects us.  We just choose to give our energy elsewhere and put that heat in its place. 

I won't say we don't feel hot most of the time, but in a small way we feel like we are beating the heat. We are learning to live with it in a more peaceful coexistence, rather than fighting it every day.

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Here's a nice recipe for those days when its so hot outside, the last thing you want to do it cook. It is also a great way to use the wonderful melons and herbs of summer.

Melon Salad with Mint/Basil Vinaigrette

Ingredients

1/2 watermelon
1 cantaloupe, cut in half, seeded
2 tablespoons freshly chopped mint leaves plus whole sprigs, for garnish
2 tablespoons freshly chopped basil leaves plus whole sprigs, for garnish
1 lemon juiced (1/4 cup)
1/4 cup simple syrup (equal amounts sugar and water heated until sugar dissolves, cool)
1/8 teaspoon amaretto

To make

Scoop 2 cups each from the watermelon and the cantaloupe using a knife or a melon baller. Carve the remainder of the watermelon out and reserve shell.
Add to a blender the chopped mint, chopped basil, lemon juice, simple syrup and amaretto. Blend until smooth.
Add the watermelon and cantaloupe balls or pieces to the carved-out watermelon half.
Add the vinaigrette to the balls and toss to combine.
Garnish with the mint and basil sprigs and taste.

Coming Home

If moving is hard, then moving twice in one month might seem downright impossible.  

After two weeks of living in our townhome, we learned that the sale of our home was not going to go through after all.  After struggling through every range of emotion -- from sadness and anger to shock and disbelief -- we settled down to make the hard decisions about what to do next, how to handle it all with grace and courage, and chart the next path forward.

We decided the best thing for us would be to cut our losses and move back into our old house. It seemed impossible at first -- can we really take all those pictures down, pack the clothes into the car, box up the contents of the living room, kitchen and den? My tired muscles and exhausted mind said no -- but deep down I knew it was the best choice to keep our family sane and return to normalcy, balance and routine.

So we set everything in motion, this time in reverse; we called the movers, redirected our mail, packed everything up and headed back home. 

We are now settled (again) into our house determined to keep the lessons learned from the experience. Our original purpose was to streamline our lives, and we are still committed to that. We feel lighter having gotten rid of so much stuff in the original move.  Things feel fresh and we've learned that simplicity feels really good.  We've learned some things about ourselves that surprised and delighted us, and have come out of the experience stronger, more connected.

The best part of moving home is being back in my kitchen. It's like being reunited with an old friend. To celebrate being home -- really home -- I made one of my favorite dishes that is the essence of early summer. It is a recipe from Marcella Hazan's "Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking." In times such as these, tradition is appealing. This little appetizer is classical cuisine at its best -- simple, elegant, reliable.  A perfect welcome home.

Roasted Eggplant with Peppers and Cucumber

You will love the play of textures and flavors in this dish. Make it as a refreshing alternative to hummus or baba ganoush.

Serves 6 as an appetizer

1 1/2 pounds eggplant

1/2 teaspoon garlic, chopped very fine

1/2 cup red bell pepper, cut in 1/3 inch cubes

1/4 cup yellow bell pepper, cut in 1/3 inch cubes

1/2 cup cucumber, cut in 1/3 inch cubes

1 Tablespoon chopped parsley

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Freshly ground black pepper

Kosher salt

Wash the eggplant and roast it over a charcoal grill, a gas burner of the broiler of an oven.  When the skin on the side next to the flame is blackened and the eggplant has become soft, turn it with a pair of tongs.  When all the skin is charred and the entire eggplant is soft and looks as though it had deflated in the heat, remove from the heat and set aside to cool off.

When you can handle the eggplant comfortably, pick off as much of the skin as you can.  

Cut the flesh into strips less than 1 inch wide.  If there are many blackish seeds, remove them.  Put the strips in a colander or a large strainer set over a deep dish to allow all the excess liquid to drain away for at least 30 minutes.

When you see no more liquid being shed, transfer the chopped eggplant to a mixing bowl and toss with all the remaining ingredients, except for the salt. Add the salt just when ready to serve.

Feeling like myself

Moving is hard. There is just no way around that. It's all the boxes, the dust, the packing and unpacking, the millions of little decisions around what goes where and who should be doing what to get it all done and get everyone settled in.After a week and a half in our new place, the boxes are all unpacked and we are fairly settled in, though we are still figuring out our routine.  

And, after two weeks of take-out and eating on the run, I decided it was time to start cooking again.

The first real meal I prepared was a lesson in frustration. I couldn't find anything, the counters felt too small, cooking on the electric stove felt awkward and I had planned a meal that was overly complicated and never quite jelled.

Yesterday, I gave it another try, planning a menu that was tried and true, that everyone loves to eat and that I enjoy cooking. It was a meal that was easy and familiar. A menu that makes me feel like myself.

Everything came together just right and tasted like we all expected it to taste. The zucchini was both bright and mellow-tasting and colored a rich, vibrant green, the panko-crusted chicken was juicy on the inside and crunchy on the outside, the orzo creamy and comforting.  I had fun making it and we all relaxed as we shared the meal at our old kitchen table.

It's a good feeling to get your groove back in the kitchen and to feel like yourself again.  It's a big part of settling in and making yourself a home.  

Grated Zucchini Sauteed in Olive Oil

This is a quick, delicious dish that is a standard in our home.

Serves 6.

8 small zucchini
2 Tablespoons olive oil
kosher salt
pepper

Optional: 1/2 cup minced parsley or you can subsititute grated carrot or yellow squash for some of the zucchini

Clean the outside of the zucchini and slice off the ends.
Grate the zucchini coursely using a food processor or a box grater.
Spread the zucchini on a kitchen towel and sprinkle with kosher salt for 30 minutes.
Fold the towel over the zucchini and squeeze as much water out as possible by squeezing through the towel, or take handfuls of the zucchini and squeeze.
Heat the oil over medium heat and add the zucchini (and parsley if using). Saute for 15 to 20 minutes tossing gently with a spoon until tender cooked through.
Add salt and pepper to taste. Add additional olive oil to taste.

What do we really need?

We just moved from a house that was too big for us to a small townhome in an effort to streamline and simplify our lives. The amount of stuff we had accumulated over the past five years was staggering and it was therapeutic to go through it all and decide what to do with each and every piece.

Since we cut the total square footage of our lives by more than one half, the decisions were pretty simple:  The things we really loved and needed we brought with us.  For the rest of the things, we had to decide if it was worth the effort to pack it, move it to storage and then pay to keep it there.  In the hot steam of a Texas garage in late May, this process became quicker and easier with each passing day.

Needless to say, the kitchen was the hardest to tackle since I'd come to believe that everything in there was necessary and essential. But with time, I was able to make the call with increasing ease.

Keep the huge Calphalon saute pan that is perfect when feeding a crowd, but give its twin to my daughter-in-law who can use it in her new kitchen. Keep all the hand-painted yellow Quimper dishes handed down from my mom, and give away the stacks of mismatched dishes collected over time that another family could really use.  Keep the pasta pots and sauce pans reached for the most, forget the ones never used, collecting dust and taking up space.

Now that I am in my tiny new kitchen, I appreciate the exercise. I know my most cherished and needed items are with me, or safely tucked away in storage. And the rest is being used and enjoyed by new owners.  It's been a good lesson in living more simply and seeing how liberating it can be to keep what you need, and give the rest away. 

A Great Time of Year

Cuisine is when things taste like themselves. -- Curnonsky

Spring is such a great time of year to be a cook.  So many green, delicious things to choose from. The perfect season for keeping things simple and letting things taste like themselves.

We just got our first basket from our wonderful CSA, Tecolote Farms, and already I am in heaven. Nestled inside the wooden tub I found dark, curly spinach, sweet and subtle green garlic (young garlic, before the cloves have developed their papery shells - it is milder that regular, mature garlic), fresh salad greens, mache, and collard greens.  

The great thing is that with ingredients such as these, you don't have to put much effort into making a wonderful meal. This week we've had some gorgeous salads with the greens, but my favorite flavors from this basket came from the spinach and green garlic.

Wednesday night we didn't feel much like cooking, but wanted something good.  We had pasta on hand, the fresh spinach and garlic, red chili flakes and good quality parmegiano reggianno. All the fixings for a satisfying, no-meat pasta dish (though this would have been great with some turkey basil sausage from Central Market).

This is great for families and perfect if cooking for one since you can easily adapt the ingredients and quantities.

Super easy and delicious pasta with greens and garlic

Ingredients

1/2 pound pasta

2 bunches fresh spinach (or other greens such as swiss chard)

2-3 heads green garlic or 4 -5 cloves garlic

Extra virgin olive oil

2 -3 teaspoons red chili flakes (or to taste)

1/3 cup freshly grated parmegiano reggianno

salt and pepper to taste

To make

Cook the pasta, drain and aside, reserving 1 cup of cooking liquid

Take the fresh spinach and wash it thoroughly, drain well in a colandar 

Slice 2 - 3 heads of green garlic (or 4 - 5 cloves of garlic if you don't have green garlic)

Heat a saute pan over medium-low heat and add olive oil to coat the bottom

Heat the olive oil to medium-low then add the garlic

Saute the garlic gently until soft (don't let the garlic burn)

Add the spinach (it will cook in the small amount of water still clinging to the leaves)

Cook until wilted

Add chili flakes, salt and pepper

Add the pasta and toss altogether to meld flavors and bring everything to the same temperature

Add parmesan and a little bit of the reserved pasta water to make a nice sauce

Add more chili flakes or parmesan to taste.

Serve and enjoy. 

This couldn't be easier and is amenable to all kinds of variations.  Try different greens, different kinds of garlic, add a shallot or two.  Or try adding some lean sausage such as turkey basil or chicken jalapeno. Delicious and done in minutes.

Food and Self Care

Have you ever wolfed down dinner, not tasting it at all, completely immersed in your favorite TV show? Or distractedly eaten a muffin-to-go while driving to work in rush hour traffic? Or hurried through lunch with the single goal of finishing so you can move on the next thing?  

Many of us have experienced food in this way, but how does it make us feel?

Chances are, we are left feeling neutral at best, or downright awful at worst.  Wouldn’t it be wonderful if our experiences with food left us feeling nurtured, nourished, satisfied – alive?

By being more mindful about how and what we eat, we can make our relationship with food one of the most powerful ways we can find renewal in our lives and practice self-care.

Practicing self-care means taking care of ourselves on a whole new level. To really practice self-care, we have to make it a priority. This may be hard for some of us to do, but the benefits are enormous.

My friend Renee, author of The Mother’s Guide to Self-Renewal, defines self-care in terms of four key areas in our lives -- physical, spiritual, mental and emotional. 

Food provides an easy and natural way to bring self-care into our daily lives in all these areas.  Here are some ideas:

Physical
·     Listen to your body and try to sense which foods you are really craving, that your body really needs

·     Take a tip from the French: indulge in your favorite decadent food but in small portions, savoring every bite
 

Spiritual
·     Take the time to sit quietly and enjoy your first cup of morning coffee or tea 
·     Make the family meal a priority — savor the connection and calming effect of sharing the family meal
 
Mental
·     Read a book by a great food writer such as Ruth Reichl, Laurie Colwin or M.F.K. Fischer
·     Challenge yourself with a new recipe or spend time working on the basics (think Mastering the Art of French Cooking)
 
Emotional
·     Take a cooking class alone, with your partner or with a friend--learn, laugh, relax and enjoy the experience
·     Have a few close friends over for a special dinner and see where your conversation takes you!

Ah, Julia

Two Potatoes. Two leeks. Some water and a pat of butter.  Who knew you could make the most wonderful soup from a handful of humble ingredients such as these?

A month ago, our book club read Julie and Julia the hilarious and insightful account by blogger Julie Powell of her year spent cooking her way through Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking.  The book begins with Julie throwing together a batch of  Potage Parmentier, a classic french leek and potato soup, at the end of a long day.  Making the soup is the start of her odyssey and will ultimately mark a huge change in her life.

We knew we had to make the soup and serve it as we talked about the book.  We were all completely amazed at the how delicious it was, and how deep its flavors were given its short list of ingredients. It was the very essence of potato and of leek.  We found every step in its preparation to be in perfect pitch: The long simmering time elegantly infuses the flavors of the potatoes and the leeks. Running the soup though a food mill gives it the most velvety texture. A pat of butter at the end lends just the right amount of richness without overwhelming the dish.  We couldn't stop eating it.

It reminded us that true, classic technique can bring out flavors in food in a uniquely subtle and satisfying way.  This soup is just right for the last few weeks of winter and the early cool of spring.

As Julia would say, "Bon Appetit!"

Potage Parmentier
Leek and Potato Soup

6 – 8 servings
From Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking

A 3- to 4- quart saucepan or pressure cooker
3 to 4 cups or 1 pound peeled potatoes, sliced or diced
3 cups or 1 pound thinly sliced leeks including the tender green, or yellow onions
2 quarts water
1 Tb salt

4 to 6 Tb whipping cream or 2 to 3 Tb softened butter
2 to 3 Tb minced parsley or chives

Either simmer the vegetables, water, and salt together, partially covered, for 40 to 50 minutes until the vegetables are tender; or cook under 15 pounds of pressure for 5 minutes, release pressure,  and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes.

Mash the vegetable together in the soup with a fork or pass the soup through a food mill. Correct the seasoning. Set aside uncovered until just before serving then reheat to the simmer.

Off heat and just before serving, stir in the cream or the butter by spoonfuls. Pour into a tureen or soup cups and decorate with the herbs.

Fresh Starts

I love a new year for the promise it brings of fresh starts and renewed potential. It is a time for planning, for setting goals, for making resolutions and for looking ahead with new perspective.

This year I am looking forward to simplifying my life and focusing on the values and activities that mean the most to me and my family. 

I look forward to cleaning my closet and reducing the clutter in my life, to spending more time outdoors and finding more time to read.  I also look forward to many meals simply prepared and enjoyed at home.  I want to simplify my cooking even more – to keep it fun and interesting, but also make it easy to fit into a busy day.

I’m not alone in this. In a recent Reuters article, 2009 was proclaimed the Year of the Home Cook as more people look to cooking at home not just to better meet their budgets but also to satisfy their craving for connection and time spent together.

We love this idea, and look forward to playing a role in helping friends and family return to the table and enjoy all the pleasures of food prepared and enjoyed at home.

Look for more on this topic as the year unfolds. For now, we hope you enjoy this wonderful recipe for a simple and delicious soup that can be prepared in minutes.  It is sure to make your body feel happy–bringing comfort against winter’s cold, while offering up a hint of spring with its bright, fresh flavor.

Enjoy!

Red curry soup with chicken

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 teaspoons grapeseed or vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon red Thai curry paste
1 8 oz. can coconut milk
1 ½ cups chicken stock
1 Tablespoon fresh lime juice
4 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts – sliced thin
1 cup sugar snap peas or snow peas
1 cup thinly sliced mushrooms (such as cremini or baby bellas)
¼ cup cilantro leaves

To make

Heat the oil in a large sauté or frying pan (preferably non-stick) over medium heat.

Add curry paste and cook until fragrant, stirring constantly.
Stir in coconut milk, chicken stock and lime juice.
Bring to a boil and let cook for 1 minute.

Reduce the heat to low and add the chicken, simmering for about 5 minutes to cook the chicken and incorporate the flavors.

Add the peas and mushrooms and cook another 5 – 10 minutes until chicken is completely cooked and the vegetables are tender.

Stir in fresh cilantro and lime juice and serve.

This is wonderful served over steamed rice.  Feel free to add different vegetables or to try different kinds of curry.

Savoring the Simple

“In cooking, as in all the arts, simplicity is the sign of perfection.”

--Curnonsky

I love cooking for the holidays. I love the big things – the drama of a prime rib roast, the bubble of scalloped potatoes just out of the oven, the complicated nature of a classic buche du noel.  

The holidays are a wonderful time to be creative, to stretch yourself, to be fancy and show a little flair.

But this time of year, I also love the small things – a tiny bite of peanut brittle, a handful of spice-roasted pecans, a slender slice of rich pate, a tender morsel of smoked salmon on toast. Small things allow us to appreciate the perfection of food in its simplest form.

Simple makes sense today as it has throughout our history. In the early years of the 20^th century, the French gastronome Curnonsky (known then and now as the “Prince of Gastronomy”) wrote about cuisine in its many forms from le grande cuisine to cuisine bourgeoise.  But he saved his affections for simple food, favoring it over more complicated fare, preferring the rustic over the refined.  Curnonsky shared his philosophy widely, often repeating his famous phrase, “Et surtout, faites simple!” or “And above all, keep it simple!”

These words resonate today when so many areas of our lives are complicated and busy, over-scheduled and over- stressed. So give yourself permission this year to take the simple route where it feels right to you.  You’re likely to love how it feels.

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The kitchen is the perfect place to celebrate the spirit of simplicity.  Here are a couple of wonderfully simple bites to satisfy holiday appetites.

Cheese-wrapped Olive Balls

1 pound sharp cheddar cheese, grated

1 cup flour

cayenne pepper to taste 

1 splash Worchestershire sauce (to taste)

Salt to taste

1 large jar of large-sized green olives stuffed with pimentos

Grate the cheese and let it come to room temperature. Add the flour and other seasonings, working into a dough with your hands.

Wrap the mixture around the olives and form into small balls.

Bake on a greased baking sheet for 10 minutes at 400 degrees.

Serve hot. Experiment with different kinds of olives (garlic-stuffed, jalapeno-stuffed, etc.) and try with different dipping sauces such as marinara, salsa, ranch, etc.

Note: The dough can be crumbly if your hands are warm. Work quickly with the dough for best results.  These also freeze beautifully so feel free to make them ahead of time and have them on hand to pop into the oven when guests arrive. No need to thaw them ahead of time, just place them into the oven from the freezer and allow a bit more baking time to cook through.

Best-ever Ginger Snaps

My mom’s friend Jacqueline always wowed us with these cookies, but none of us could have guessed how easy they are to make. A simple ingredient list and five simple steps are all that are needed to make these most wonderful ginger snaps. Perfect for holiday entertaining or gift-giving.

¾ cup shortening

1 cup sugar

1 egg

¼ cup molasses

2 cups sifted flour

¼ teaspoon salt

s teaspoons soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon ground ginger

Cream shortening and sugar till light and fluffy.

Add egg, beat well.  Add molasses.

Sift together dry ingredients.

Mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients.

Roll into 1 inch balls and dip in sugar.

Bake on ungreased cookie sheet at 375 degrees for 8 – 10 minutes.

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This year I’m going to enjoy the small things, and celebrate the simple. May you have a wonderful holiday season with good times spent at table!