Adventures in Teena’s Pride CSA Continued: Broccoli Rabe & Purple Cabbage
January 2nd, 2011 § Leave a Comment
I find my share comes in handy most when a couple of herbs and a veggie or two can play supporting roles in a great dinner. Like tonight’s colorful meal. Wild sockeye salmon was on sale (again) at Whole Foods, so I picked out the pin bones of a skin-on slab, poured on a favorite oriental marinade (not unfamiliar to this blog,) and grilled it quickly under high heat on the Salamader. While the salmon was cooking, I sliced discs of a small purple cabbage and sauteed them over medium heat in olive oil with some crushed whole garlic cloves, adding a bunch of broccoli rabe. By the time the fish was done, so were the veggies. I pulled them off first to plate as a bed for the salmon, served whole. A quick salad came together around the spearmint and tarragon from the share. Flowers and leaves were tossed with spring mix lettuces, fennel in matchsticks, raw corn, and diced avocado. I dressed it lightly with extra virgin olive oil and a mix of cider and champagne vinegars, but seasoned generously with sea salt and freshly-cracked black pepper. Dinner was simple and served.
Recipe: Elizabeth’s Apricot Tart with Lavender Honey Cream
October 17th, 2010 § Leave a Comment
Ok, it was really Patricia Well’s tart, but Elizabeth Fenjvez made it her own and baked it for our delight at my mother’s dinner party a couple of Sundays ago. Here is the recipe. As happens sometimes, busying myself in pre-meal kitchen commotion, I didn’t get there quick enough to capture the crowning moment, of lavender honey cream, every indulgent drip of it, being poured over the tarts. But I was first in line for a piece! This dessert is lovely for fall, substituting pears for stone fruits, as they aren’t in season. Thank you, Elizabeth, for sharing the recipe — you made it look easy, but we know it wasn’t that easy!! I think we’ll see if we can pull it off with as much finesse for Thanksgiving.
Elizabeth and her tarts before going in the oven.
Snap Crackle Pop, Banh Phong Tom
October 2nd, 2010 § 2 Comments
I waited so long to take my bag of instant prawn crackers – banh phong tom in Vietnamese – for a test drive, a souvenir from my trip to Southeast Asia this summer. It must have been a silly attempt to prevent them from running out! Silly of course, because I hadn’t been able to enjoy them which is, well… the point.
I have always loved noshing on these puffed snacks at Vietnamese and Indonesian restaurants stateside when they have them. They’re nom nom. In Miami, Bali Cafe downtown has a few kinds, even one made in-house! (Ask for kroepoek there.) « Read the rest of this entry »
