I need to work on my proof-reading. Sadly, I do a lot of it for the writing of others. I just seem unable to bring myself to do the same for my own. For posterity, I like A mix of tomatoes, and you should cut the mint into THIN strips.

The staff of salad

In these fogged late summer daze, I have become enamoured with color. Red tomatoes, yellow tomatoes, green tomatoes. Sweet 100's. Early girls. I love them all. I've been pretty into "kitchen sink" summer salads (more on that later) but I've been kicking around a few recipe ideas focused around produce that is booming at the moment. I forced Josh to come over and be my guinea pig as I knew he would probably have forgotten to eat all day and would therefore eat just about anything I placed in front of him, and probably like it. On the menu was:

Tomato Panzanella with Lavender and Mint

Sauteed sweet corn and red pepper with chili-lime butter

Red-rubbed flank steak

All were works in progress, though luckily all were edible. The chili-lime needed a bit more bang, the red-rub will next time go on a thicker cut, and the Panzanella needed...something. I gave it another go today, and figured it was the "pan" that just needed a bit more loving. Here is the second stage of this summer salad (as with all things that I make, amounts are approximate and should be adapted according to what you have). On the tomatoes--they are the stars of this dish, so this is the perfect time to make it. You don't want Safeway tomatoes, or winter tomatoes. This is good, summertime stuff here folks.

• 2-3 lbs good tomatoes. I like mix of sizes (sweet 100's, big heirloom) as well as colors (red, tiger-striped green, those little golden goodies). Cut the small in half, cut the larger in a range of sizes (early girls perhaps in 4 or eight, big guys in large squares)
• 2 cups trimmed arugula. You can cut this into think strips like the mint if you like.
• Lavender salt (pretty cheap at Whole Foods, oddly enough)
• Bunch of mint, to taste (optional)

For Croutons

• A good loaf of bread. I didn't use the whole loaf, and in fact its great for day old. Try ciabatta or Acme herb slab. See below for crouton recipe.
• Olive oil (1/4 cup-esque., or mix some olive oil and some butter)
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed

For Dressing

• A smallish shallot, minced
• 3ish tablespoons red wine vinegar
• squeeze of lemon
• 1/4 cup olive oil

Put diced shallot in a cup with vinegar and a bit of lemon and let mingle for 20ish minutes.
In the meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375 with a cookie sheet in there. Cut the bread (you may choose to take off the crust, or leave it on if you like the texture or are lazy. In a frying pan, heat oil or oil and butter over medium heat (until butter foams or oil is warm). Add garlic and let cook 30 sec to a minute. Add bread to pan and toss to coat, or if the pan is small put the cubes of bread on cookie sheet, pour oil over, sprinkle with sea salt and grind a bit of pepper atop. Bake, stirring once or so, until the bread is lovely and crispy but still a bit soft in the middle. Remove after about 8-9 minutes and let cool. These can be stored in a Tupperware for a day or two.

While the bread cools, cut the tomatoes and sprinkle with lavender salt. Taste to make sure you have not created something that tastes like potpourri. Take mint leaves to taste, and lay them all one atop another. Roll them up, then slice thinly across the roll, as if you were cutting a baguette. Do the same to the greens if you like. Slowly whisk the oil into the vinegar. In a big bowl, toss tomatoes, greens and bread (you may want to add the mint later). Grind pepper to taste. Let sit for one hour and up to a few--this could be good for pick nicks--or eat immediately if you are quite hungry or like your bread very crispy. Before serving, taste and add olive oil as needed.

Some possible variations--remove mint and lavender, add burrata, or another good fresh mozzarella, and basil. Or, leave lavender in, and add some tasty goat cheese. These are just ideas--let me know if you try them. They're on my list. As always, any suggestions, additions, or changes (I never measure my salad dressing) are awaited...

Next: Cheddar and pink pearl grilled cheese with garlic-onion jam...

Panning for Gold

Here are some pictures of the visit to Nevada City, as promised.
This one of the muffins that Rebecca, Dylan and I awoke to find awaiting us at Nora's, along with pots upon pots of coffee. They take their morning cup seriously there, as all should. Nora can give the recipe. Dylan was a pretty big fan.


Over to the right here we have Dylan and Em at the festival (of stories). Dylan, sipping his frozen cappucino, knew I was wielding the camera. Emily did not, and yet somehow managed to make the exact same face, at the same moment, also holding eating implement to mouth. Odd, that.


Here we have the land that molded our fireheaded friend into the marvel that we know and love, the very dirt that she regularly found upon her face, the grass that regularly gives her rashes. We (Nora, Emily, Rebecca, Dylan, I) slept upon it (well, the happy couple had a sort of pre-nuptial air mattress, thus avoiding the plethora of little bugs), and then the less lucky threesome got up and went to the Brier (Higher) Patch for brunch fixings in the morning. We ate with Chris on the back porch, overlooking loveliness.

Speaking of which, I really like this picture of Rebecca. She's not making the tense-neck face, which is nice.

And this picture of Em, taken on the threshold at the departure, after a morning of lying on the lawn, looking like (as Rob aptly pointed out) some ad for std's or safe sex. Those shouldn't be the same. He said it better. Ah well.

Hot. Sauce. And summer squash.

Apparently reluctant to share his burrito with the alls of us, Dylan shove it where--well, this is a family blog. And since I know how he loves zucchini (kind of how Emily W and Jon love parsley) I have a recipe for the three of ys. Well, maybe not so much a recipe as a serving suggestion, but with PICTURES. Housitting is so helpful. Other people have all sorts of useful things, like kitchens and connector cords for cameras and fresh ravioli left behind in the fridge. And with these modern wonders, I bring you "Summer squash and corn ravioli with zucchini, corn, basil pesto and a garnish of grilled onions," otherwise known as lunch.

This secret family recipe that I am about to share with you will surely convince you of my prowess in the kitchen. I caution you to use such culinary skills carefully:
You need: pesto. Make it. Easiest thing in the world, particularly if you have a Cuisinart. Its rather common to have an almost full bunch of basil rotting away, so instead rough chop it, toss it in the food processor with some garlic (a clove or two) that you've roughed up, some pine nuts if you have them, or really any other nut you have around (dry toasted in a pan for a few minutes), a bit of olive oil and some lemon (with a bit of zest is best), and salt and pepper, bien sur. Pulse, then add a bit more olive oil until you have a thick paste. Put in a container, and keep in the fridge for a few days or freeze for basiless, low energy nights in the future.*
Premade ravioli (or you can made it--more to come there, right?)
some veggies--strays, whatever is around, or veggies that you've bought to compliment pasta filling.
bit of garnish, strays again will do--a few slivers of Parmesan, the last few leaves of your dying herbaceous plants, etc.

Take fresh ravioli of any flavor (in this case The Pasta Shop's summer squash with corn). Find duplicate or complimentary incrediants (but dulplicate are the easiest since they will undoubtedly go). I took a zucchini and made thin ribbons of it using a veggie peeler. Then I cut two longways cuts of sweet, fresh corn. Boil water with plenty of salt (don't be stingy). When boiling, toss in a few rav's (I did 5--it was plenty) and continue to boil gently. A minute or so in, toss in veggies. Boil as per package, usually 5-7 minutes. Drain, then return to pot off heat. Toss in pesto to taste, stir around, then put ravioli on a warmed plate (I usually take a bit of the pasta water as I am draining and toss it on there to warm), mounding veggies on top. Garnish with grilled onions if you happen to have them around, a bit of parm, or whatever little green guys strike your fancy.

*As you all know, you can add almost anything else that you have around to pesto. Mine happened to have a few stray sprouted garbanzos that I had around, and a smidge of parsley. I've put in anchovies (lessening the salt), made pesto of completely different herbs (cilantro, all parsley), added walnuts or hazelnuts, or take the same process to make tapenade. A really good tapenade can be whipped up of hazelnuts (if you have hazelnut oil, all the better rather than olive) and green olives.

El Burrito De La Madre Del Dios

I developed this recipe at my father's house when I was around 14 or so. It's hard to say what inspired it exactly. What I do know is that I somehow acted as the executor of God's culinary will on earth. It has undergone various alterations through the years, but the fundamentals remain the same. Where brand names are specified, no substitutions will suffice, and I will not be held responsible for deviations from the recipe. I've been working on this baby for over ten years, and I'm not going to let some snot-nosed sophisticates come in here and start tinkering with the ingredients. Oh you want to add a little sprig of cilantro on top? Or maybe you'd like to substitute some organic Peruvian mango salsa for the Pace original huh??!! You know what? Forget it. I'm not going to post this recipe after all. Fuck you guys.

dylan

Pictures people, PICTURES. I refuse to use a term such as "food p-rn," so, like the Jews to He who may be named but not fully spelled, I will leave out the "o," but oh, you should please include imagery.

IMPORTANT: I believe the deal with previously published recipes (although don't we "adapt" all of them--yes, yes we do) you can put the measurements but you have to write your own instructions. Kind of like research papers, really, though you didn't hear it from me (Josh, Dylan, avert your eyes). So please do "adapt" as we our living in litigious days.

Also note E. Harnden and I did a little revamp, and I added some links to other cites in case you are at a loss. "Hogwash" is Josh Howe's sister's blog for those who don't know, and many of us have eaten well from it (sweet potatoes, crazy brownies, all sorts of wonder). Please peruse.

Cowboys and....cookies?

So, I must admit I got this recipe off of the "internet" from this website called "epicurious.com". If you haven't been there, you guys should check it out. Its pretty fantastic if you're into this whole cooking thing. (I hope you can detect the sarcasm, or else I just look like a jackass. anyway).

Cookies are my MO, and chocolate chip in particular. These are called Colorado Cowboy Cookies; I assume because they are supposed to be of colossal size. But, when I made them, they flattened out to about 1 cm thick and about 5 inches wide-I think they're supposed to be closer to 1/2 in. They were still delicious, as both I and Lisa can attest as we sit here painfully satiated. Anyway, if anyone has any suggestions on how to keep them thicker as they bake, please come forth with ideas. I also think these would be delicious with coconut...

This recipe makes about 20 ENORMOUS cookies:

2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups old-fashioned oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (packed) dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips--I think dark chocolate chucks of good baking chocolate would be even better
1 cup chopped toasted walnuts (about 4 ounces)

Whisk first 5 ingredients in medium bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat butter and both sugars in large bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla, beating to combine. Add dry ingredients and beat until just blended. Stir in chocolate chips and walnuts. Cover dough and chill 1 hour. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled. Let soften slightly before continuing.)

Arrange 2 racks in center of oven; preheat to 350°F. Butter 2 baking sheets. Form dough into balls, using 1/4 cup dough for each. Place on prepared sheets, spacing 2 inches apart. Flatten with hand to 3 1/2-inch rounds. Bake 10 minutes, then rotate sheets. Bake until cookies are golden brown around edges and firm in center, about 4 minutes longer. Cool on sheet 5 minutes. Transfer to racks to cool completely.