Confessions with a Sugar Snap

 

So many blogs are confessional by nature, something I've done my best to avoid (with varying degrees of success).  Today, however, I'm going to brazenly confess that I have been goofing off most of the week upstate in farming country.  I had intended to do some food reportage and by doing so, keep myself amongst the useful and hard working.  Well, a bit of sun, a welcoming pool and no agenda was all that was needed to corrupt any plans of substance or right thinking.

My gracious hostess pal, Kristen, furthered this 'devil may care', 'fun in the sun', 'no worries' experience with her straightforward seasonal cooking.  I have to say; I am SO over culinary calisthenics.  Give me a simple, surprising dish and I am happy as a (on vacation) clam.  Are you ready?  It doesn't get any simpler than this (well it does if we are talking naked veg which is also very nice, but lacking in the surprising department).  Here we go:

• Acquire some sugar snap peas (the link takes you to last year's introduction)
• Wash them
• Trim them (or not)
• Toss them
• Eat them

Hey!  Wait a minute... aren't you missing something (other than the sun block)?

Toss with:

• your best olive oil (just a drizzle)
• a generous pinch of your best (and coarsest) salt
• some sesame seeds

That's it.  You can go back to the pool, forget the agenda, relax and enjoy!  Thanks Kristen... sugar snap peas prepared this way will always make me feel on holiday, pool or not!

Horchata: Try this at home!

We are not playing with matches.  Not even close.  We are, however, matching what was my recent and delightful introduction to Horchata.  Why not?  With the magic of the internet (where there is a recipe for just about anything) there is no reason not to try making something that you enjoy in the privacy and safety of your very own kitchen.  And guess what?  I did make the Horchata, but I also improvised.  Friends were coming over for an impromptu dinner and here I was about to be caught shy of dessert.  Now that’s how to see your hostess-ing reputation go up in flames! The horchata base was sitting innocently in the refrigerator waiting to replicate the delicious drink experienced in Red Hook.  So what’s a hostess on the hot spot to do?  Ice pops of course!  Instead of adding all the water, I added just less than half.  I also took my time straining it so that the mixture was quite concentrated.  After a devil-may-care splash of Marsala, the ice pop mold was located and voila!  Horchata ice pops were on the menu.  And, all modesty aside, they were a pretty big hit.  Not exactly playing with fire (my friends are a forgiving and adventurous group), but far less hazardous and way more delicious! 

Here’s a transcribed recipe for Horchata taken from the Food Network that originated with Emeril Lagasse.  You can follow the link or find your own recipe.  After finding Emeril’s on the web, I looked at Mark Bittman’s The Best Recipes in the World.  He has a slightly different method that works too.  My guess is that there as many versions out there as there are batches of this terrific drink.

Equipment

• Measuring gadgets
• Blender (certainly)
• Spice grinder (if you have one)
• A couple of bowls (and a pitcher if you have one)
• Fine mesh strainer and wooden spoon to coax things along
• Zester or sharp knife

Ingredients

• 8 Tablespoons of uncooked long-grain white rice
• 1 cup of Blanched Almonds (after last week you’re expert… right?)
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• 2 strips of lime zest- just the green part (make sure to avoid the white pith, it’s bitter)
• 3 cups of hot water- later you will need 4 cups of cool water
• 1 cup of sugar or agave 
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Method

Place the rice in the blender or your spice grinder.  Process until it is like powder and as fine as you can get it. 

In a large bowl or pitcher, combine rice ‘flour’ with the almonds, cinnamon and lime zest.  Pour 3 cups of hot water over everything and let it stand overnight in the refrigerator.

After it’s had an overnight in your fridge, work in batches, putting the mixture into your blender and processing it until it is as smooth as possible.  Add 2 cups of cool water to your initial blending.

Placing a fine mesh strainer over a bowl, gradually strain the liquid.  You can stir gently with a wooden spoon or spatula.  There will be a lot of solids left.  Discard them.  Take your time.  The more patient you are, the smoother your Horchata will be. 

When it is all strained, place in a pitcher or clean bowl and add the remaining 2 cups of cool water (or don’t if you want to try the ice-pop thing) and add the vanilla along with the sugar.  Keep tasting and add the amount of sugar that you like…. this is personal!

Cover and refrigerate until completely chilled (which you will be too when sharing this non-dairy drink with all your pals).  Serve on ice.

Learn Something New Everyday: Blanching Almonds

Now it may seem a bit odd to squander a summer entry on 'how to blanch almonds', but this is all part of my master plan to introduce you to Horchata.  Horchata and I met recently by way of the food trucks in Red Hook (not far from Chez Pip).  Nothing beats a lazy Saturday afternoon that's complete with a refreshing ‘learn something new everyday’ moment.

Don’t quote me (because I’m quoting Wikipedia), but I am teaching you how to make Mexican Horchata.  This means blanched almonds, cinnamon, vanilla and, most importantly, rice.

So let’s get back to blanching.  Blanching almonds is dead easy and a skill that you can use year round (flourless chocolate cake for example).  Starting with 'Equipment', here’s how:

Equipment

• Something to boil water in (kettles are useful things... put one on your wish list if you don't have one already)
• A bowl

(Pretty easy so far... right?)

Ingredients

• Raw Almonds (for the Horchata recipe you will need a cup of them)

Method

• Place almonds in a bowl
• Pour boiling water over them
• Let almonds sit briefly until you can pluck one out and slip the nut from the now puckered skin.

You did it!  For next week's follow-up Horchata recipe you will need to have rice, ground cinnamon, vanilla extract a sweetener (sugar? agave?) and a lime.  Useful equipment will be a blender, a spice grinder (helpful but not strictly necessary) and a fine mesh strainer or some cheesecloth.  

Ready yourself for a dairy-free, delightful and delicious culinary 'learn something new every day' moment!

White Currants

Once in a while one simply has to respond to beauty.

These diminutive white currants were today’s find from the Coop.  Not sure what to do with them just yet.  A little bit of research in Harold McGee’s book, On Food and Cooking, tells me that currents in general have growing restrictions in the United States.  This is because currants can carry a disease that affects white pines.  It’s difficult to imagine such jewel-like fruit doing harm to anything, but does explain why currants, especially black currants, are more common in England.  Perhaps their laws are not nearly as severe.  Currants in general are used more in France and the UK. 

The berry I sampled from this lot was a little bitter.  Was I disappointed?   Somewhat.  That said, having these in front of the camera today made me stop, observe and be in the moment.  Maybe they won’t make dessert, but they were responsible for a much-needed pause, and just a little bit of quiet before July 4^th and spectacles of a grander sort.  Whether your weekend is full of loud or quiet moments (or both), enjoy!

Zucchini Ribbon Salad

 

Not unlike Zucchini Wars, this recipe has made a few stops.  It came to me via Habibi’s person Glenn, who picked it up some where from CBS and a person named Tony Tantillo (we don’t know whose person he is).  Whoever wants to take responsibility is fine by me.  This is delicious and very simple to make.  According to Glenn, any shape of zucchini is fine, a peeler does the trick no matter what.  So… here we go.  Don’t be daunted by the length of this.  As usual, I’m trying to give you every detail in a simple way so that any beginners out there will be good to go!  “Bon Appetite!” from Pip’s person (that would be me).

Equipment

• Knife
• Small bowl and larger serving bowl
• Vegetable Peeler
• Zester
• Something to get the juice from your lemon
• Whisk (if you have one, otherwise let’s improvise using a jar with a tight lid)

Ingredients

• 2 large Radishes
• 1 medium Zucchini (or a couple of small ones- this is one of those non-precise recipes)
• 1/4 pound Spears of thin Asparagus (give or take)
• 1 Lemon
• 1/4 cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Pecorino Romano cheese
• Salt (kosher or better please) and Pepper (freshly ground if possible)

Method

• Wash your vegetables and the lemon
• Cut radishes into thin slices and place them in a bowl of water for 10-15 minutes
• Cut asparagus at an angle into 1/4-inch pieces
• Using your peeler, make ribbons of the zucchini (you may want to discard the first peel, so that you don’t have one ribbon that’s all skin - also discard the ends)
• Use the zester on the lemon to get about a tablespoon of zest (again, you can ‘wing’ this)
• Drain the Radishes and combine all of the above in the larger bowl
• Juice the lemon and combine it with the Olive Oil in the small bowl adding the salt and pepper to taste.  Whisk the *!@# out of it, until it is emulsified (cloudy and fully mixed)
• Pour the lemon/oil mixture over salad and toss.
• Shave some Romano cheese over the salad and it’s time to eat!

Zucchini: My Little Courgette

Call it zucchini or courgette; both names are the diminutive for squash.  These are summer squashes, meaning that the skin is tender and edible, as are the seeds. Yet another case of wash and eat!  As you can see, size and shape can vary.  These little round courgettes (I’m feeling French) were snagged at the farmer’s market on the way to tango lessons (where I feel very Argentinean).

As usual, choose firm, unblemished squashes.  When it comes to zucchini, small (6-8 inches) will deliver more flavor.  This is the beginning of the season and at the moment; I’m enjoying them small and raw. 

Later on when Zucchini Wars start, the situation has been known to spin out of control. These guys can be very prolific and if you are lucky to live amongst people who grow zucchini, don’t be surprised to open your door to a bag of summer squash largess… which is your signal to drop a bag of your largess at someone else’s door and surprise another neighbor, and so on.

Grated, summer squash make terrific additions for batter breads and muffins.  They are also wonderful grilled. But it’s too hot for heat and raw zucchini salads are a snap to prepare.  Sylvia and I had a very tasty salad just the other night.  Sorry to be a little courgette, but I’m going to post the recipe next week (the garden beckons).  Be prepared with some zucchini (the long variety), a few radishes, some thin asparagus, a lemon and some Pecorino Romano.   Locate your vegetable peeler, zester and stay tuned for a very refreshing recipe.

Kirby Cucumbers and Sylvia’s Favorite Pickles

This is a Kirby, yesterday’s quick grab from the farmer’s market (along with some lovely round zucchini which are in the hopper for another entry).

Small (about 4-5 inches long) and firm, these are a member of the cucurbit family and a direct relative (as all cucumbers are) of watermelons.  Like watermelon these lovely little cucumbers are crisp, moist and refreshingly sweet.  These particular kirbys are sliced in preparation for Chinese Pickled Cucumber Salad, an easy recipe that is one of Sylvia’s favorites. That is the slices that are left…they are also terrific as is and part of this photograph has already been consumed!  The end bits were a little bitter (larger cucumbers have sweeter skin), but the slices were fine as is. Another case of instant satisfaction.  Delicious raw, great as pickles, what’s not to like?!  This recipe requires a little advanced thinking because it needs an over-night stay in the refrigerator.  If you can stop eating them as-is, it’s worth the wait. 

Adapted from Ken Hom’s Chinese Kitchen, here’s the recipe:

Ingredients

• 12 oz of Kirby cucumbers  (about 4)
• 1 plus 1/2 Tablespoon of salt (kosher is best)
• 3 Tablespoons of sugar
• 2 Tablespoons of Chinese white rice vinegar
• 3 Tablespoons of sesame oil

Method

• Trim off the bitter ends of the cucumber and discard
• Thinly slice the remaining cucumber
• In a large bowl, toss the slices of cucumber with the salt and sugar
• Cover and refrigerate overnight

• When ready to serve, squeeze out the liquid (use your hands, best tools in the kitchen!)
• Toss the slices with the vinegar and sesame oil (you are allowed to use a spoon here!)

For color and punch, garnish with 2 fresh red chilies seeded and sliced (optional of course)