Spicy Kale, Corn, and Mango Salad

The windows are open, the fans are whirling, the ice in my glass of iced tea is melting fast, and I'm a schvitzy mess. Welcome to our first heat wave of the season.

When the temps climb past 90, there's no cooking in my kitchen. At most I can chop up veggies, which is why I was poking around my kitchen trying to come up with a salad that would interest me enough to make the effort to engage with a knife.

There was a fresh bunch of kale I'd just bought, an ear of corn, a white onion, a bowl of tomatoes, a jalapeño, and a not-quite-ripe mango. Hey, a jar of salted capers. And then I remembered the package of Country French Vinaigrette I'd bought at Penzeys in Hillcrest and had raved about for Local Bounty.

This might work. Minimal effort in a hot kitchen. All I had to do was make the dressing--just add red wine vinegar and extra virgin olive oil--shuck the corn and slice off the kernels, rinse and soak the capers, and chop the rest of the veggies. Then mix it all together. In fact, the not-quite-ripe mango was perfect. It wouldn't collapse in the salad, which would have to marinate to tenderize the fresh kale.

The result was a colorful, zesty salad that was sweet and salty, crunchy and tender. It was great alone, but would be great with the addition of cooked faro or resting on top of pasta. And how about feta or goat cheese added to it in the future after letting it marinate. Riff on it with what you have, but this was a pretty cool(ing) combination.

Spicy Kale, Corn, and Mango Salad
(printable recipe)
Serves 4

1 ear of corn, shucked with kernels sliced off
1/2 slightly ripe mango, peeled and diced
1 large tomato, diced
1 jalapeño, dices
1/2 medium onion, red or white, diced
4 large kale leaves, spine removed, chopped into bite-sized pieces
2 tablespoons salted capers, rinsed and soaked

1/2 cup of Country French Vinaigrette made from Penzeys' mix -- or your own vinaigrette

Combine vegetables, add dressing. Marinate for about an hour. Serve.

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Stone Fruit Salsa

Back in the early 90s, KPBS aired a Saturday cooking show called Cooking at the Academy, referring to the California Cooking Academy. I guess I really enjoyed the show because I bought the cookbook, which I still have. This was one of those books many of us have that have a single recipe we fall in love with and work into our repertoire. Mine was a simple tomato relish made with a couple of juicy tomatoes, garlic, a jalapeño pepper, basil leaves sliced into a chiffonade, and balsamic vinegar. To that I came up with adding diced red onion.

Anyway, I discovered I adored it as an accompaniment to another favorite recipe from yet another cookbook, an eggplant souffle from the wonderful ancient tome, The Vegetarian Epicure. I still make both, although not always paired.

Fast forward decades and I found myself a couple of weeks ago at Specialty Produce marveling at the new delivery of stone fruit from the Santa Monica Farmers Market. I ended up writing a piece on four types of cherries for my Local Bounty post for San Diego Magazine, but I also had picked up some lovely peaches, plus I had a couple of plums already at home. What to do with this bounty?

And my mind somehow went to that tomato relish. So, how about a savory stone fruit salsa loosely modeled on that relish?

I had a serrano chile, basil growing in my garden, a lime and white balsamic vinegar from Temecula Olive Oil Company, which I thought would work better with fruit. Plus, a slew of cherries and other stone fruit.

But, how would this be used? Well, that was easy. All those flavors could go sort of AC/DC, complementing fish or carnitas tacos, grilled salmon, black cod, pork tenderloin, duck, or--what I had the first night--grilled flank steak. Or it could be served as a savory component in a dessert, over a rich vanilla ice cream, lemon cake, or even a decadent chocolate brownie.

Or a souffle.

Stone Fruit Salsa
(printable recipe)

Makes about 1 1/2 cups

2 dozen cherries, pitted
2 plums
1 large, firm peach
1/2 serrano or whole jalapeño pepper
1/4 medium red onion, diced
1 1/2 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar
juice of 1 lime
pinch of salt
freshly ground pepper to taste

Chop the fruit and the pepper (removing the seeds if you want to reduce the heat intensity). Add to a bowl with the rest of the ingredients. Mix well and refrigerate for an hour. Adjust the seasonings. If you want it sweeter, add a little honey to taste.

If you don't have a cherry pitter, find one. It might also be labeled an olive pitter. It's wonderfully handy.

Stone fruit salsa

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Whole Foods Hillcrest's New 7th Ave Pub

Last week, my friend Carolyn Kates invited me to come by the Whole Foods in Hillcrest, where she works, to learn about the program she created in which local producers make products exclusive to the Hillcrest store. I wrote about that for this week's Local Bounty blog post in San Diego Magazine. After checking out the products, she invited to have lunch with her in the store's new eatery, what they call the 7th Ave Pub--just a short stroll up the ramp to street level at University and 7th.

It's a cozy place with a contemporary feel, perfect for a beer and a burger. In fact, the pub carries 30 beers on draft, and several in bottles and cans--many, like Stone, Coronado Brewing Company, San Diego Brewing Co, Alesmith, and Ballast Point--from local brewers. There's also a small wine line list and some interesting non-alcoholic drinks, like the lemon ginger iced tea I ordered, which was remarkably refreshing.

The menu currently is a work in progress. Indeed, the 7th Ave Pub is a work in progress itself. The day I was there, a dumb waiter was being installed so that food didn't have to be carried up the ramp from the kitchen. Cooking equipment better suited for a restaurant than the market's prepared foods prep was on its way, which will give the cooks more latitude in creating a targeted menu for this particular venue.

Nevertheless, the food was terrific. Carolyn ordered a number of dishes for us.

The first that came up with Anishka's Beet Salad. Okay, I don't eat beets, but the salad was gorgeous and I was delighted that glistening red beets were limited to large slices on the plate, topped by the mix of arugula, grilled corn, and feta cheese--tossed in a tangy cilantro vinaigrette with sriracha sauce. I could enjoy just the salad and it was bright and perfect for that sunny spring afternoon.

Next up came a large serving plate filled with orange balsamic roasted Brussels sprouts, bedded in large red cabbage leaves. I adored these. You could just taste the citrus coming through the perfectly crispy sweet sprouts. But, get this, the Brussels sprouts were paired with a helping of whole grain mustard for dipping. That would never have occurred to me, yet it truly works and is something I'll be doing in the future when I make it myself. Loved this dish!

Then we were hit by a big--really big--burger. This was the University Burger & Fries. And there was the Pesto Tomato Flatbread.

The burger is served on a fluffy Sadie Rose bun. The top bun was laden with lettuce, tomato, a chunky slice of red onion, and what seemed to be a whole avocado, sliced. The bottom bun was invisible, covered by the medium rare whole beef patty (from Homegrown Meats), cheddar cheese, and two mammoth slices of crispy bacon. Decadent enough, but matched by the pile of crispy fries and a little bowl of Kickin' Ketchup (made in Orange County and sold at the store). The slice of pickle? Well, they can do better. Just open up a jar of Bubbies kosher pickles, please.

Okay, image trying to take the top bun and its toppers and flipping it over to create the burger. Then eating it. So delicious yet so fraught with danger. My suggestion? Sliders. Three types: beef, lamb, and pork. Perfect one-handed food for when you're also cradling an ale. And, I hear, they do intend to scale down some of the menu items to make them a little easier to eat. But, this still was a great burger.

The flatbread, also, was terrific. With a flatbread you obviously run the risk of juices above creating  soggy bread. But they know what they're doing here.

Those juicy tomato slices sat on a nest of house-made pesto and somehow their juices didn't leak through to the bread. The whole thing was smothered with mozzarella and parmesan cheeses--so it was a great melding of salty, sweet, aromatic, chewy, and crispy. (It even reheated well the next day when I ate the leftovers.)

The 7th Ave Pub clearly benefits from the variety of food and ingredients available to it from Whole Foods below, so you can also order sushi, a cheese board, tacos, soups, sandwiches, and dessert. There are vegetarian and vegan options for several dishes, too.

As I noted, though, the menu will be changing. That's something I can't wait to check out the next time I'm there.



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Gobbling Up Turkey Eggs

I was at the Thursday UTC farmers market a couple of weeks ago, talking with farmer Eli Hofshi of Eli's Farms about his produce for my Local Bounty blog on San Diego Magazine--then I noticed some unusual eggs sitting in cartons. They were beautiful, slightly larger than chicken eggs and splashed with brown speckles.

It turns out they were fertilized turkey eggs. Hofshi's turkeys have been prolific so far this spring and he has plenty to raise, so he has started bringing the rest out to the farmers markets to sell. Clearly, I had to try them. I've cooked with duck eggs and quail eggs, but these turkey eggs were a first for me.

Back in November, Slate writer Brian Palmer questioned why we don't eat turkey eggs. He posits very simply that it's because they're expensive. They just don't produce like little factories like chickens and require far more space than chickens. And they require more food. All fair points. Hofshi sold me the eggs at $1 apiece.

But, there was a time when turkey eggs were not only an American staple, but also popular in Europe. And, you can still find them for sale online and in some British markets. Here in the U.S., your best chance at finding them is at a local farmers market from farmers like Hofshi.

Now why would you want to spend the money to eat them? Mostly because they have a richer flavor than conventional chicken eggs and, thanks to their size, you don't need as many for a given recipe. But, they are higher in cholesterol than chicken eggs. So, they're kind of a treat--and certainly a conversation piece. Soft or hard boil them, poach them, fry them. Use them for sauces or baking. Or as I did--enjoy them simply scrambled.

You can find Eli's Farms at the UTC, El Cajon, City Heights, and Pt. Loma farmers markets run by Brian's Farmers Markets.


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Wee Be Little Soup for One

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about a variety of pumpkins sold at Suzie's Farm booths at the local farmers markets in my Local Bounty blog on sandiegomagazine.com. Among the pumpkins I featured were petite Wee Be Littles, a lovely sugar pumpkin that can be chopped up and cooked or carefully emptied of the seeds and fibrous pulp and used as a container for everything from soup to salad to pudding.

In fact, Suzie's Farm employee Jenna Barnes gave me a wonderful quick soup idea for the Wee Be Littles that I included in the post. Then I took a couple home with the idea of making the soup--but it evolved from Jenna's very smart launching pad of a recipe into my own soup for one. I sauteed the vegetables and included a splash of Madeira. I used herbs from my garden, added some hot pepper flakes, and used gouda instead of cheddar cheese. The result was a rich, fragrant bowl of happiness. Easy to make and a splendid way to use the entire squash (and, yes, I always roast the seeds).

This is still Jenna's recipe, but it brings home the point that home cooks don't have to follow recipes to the letter, but instead should use them as a jumping off point to create a dish that reflects their own style of cooking.

So, with thanks to Jenna, here's my version of a Wee Be Little Soup:

Wee Be Little Soup for One
adapted from Jenna Barnes
(printable recipe here)
Serves, well, one

Ingredients
1 Wee Be Little pumpkin
1 large clove garlic, minced
1/4 large yellow onion, finely diced
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (plus oil to rub over the pumpkin)
Splash of Madeira or other sherry
2 teaspoons minced herbs (I used thyme and marjoram, but sage is also good here) Keep about a 1/4 teaspoon reserved.
3 tablespoons grated cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Dash of red pepper flakes
1/4 cup of milk (amount depends on size of the pumpkin)
1 pat of butter

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Heat oil in a saute pan and add the onions and garlic. Slowly saute until golden. Add the Madeira and cook it down. Add the herbs and mix in well. Remove from heat and set aside.

2. Slice off the top of the pumpkin, just taking off about an inch or so and discard. Using a grapefruit knife, carefully clean out the seeds and the pulp (save the seeds to roast). Rub the pumpkin with the extra olive oil and place on a foil-covered baking sheet.

3. Add the onion and garlic mixture to the pumpkin, followed by the cheese, salt and pepper, and red pepper flakes. Add milk, leaving about half an inch of space from the top. Gently mix together, then top with the butter.

4. Bake for 30 minutes or until the pumpkin is soft on the inside.

5. Remove the pumpkin from the oven. Using a spoon, gently scrape the flesh from the sides of the pumpkin, taking care not to break through the skin. Stir all the ingredients together to create the soup. You're not pureeing the pumpkin so the soup will be a little chunky, but this adds some nice texture. Sprinkle the soup with the remaining herbs and/or roasted pumpkin seeds. Serve with warm crusty bread for dunking.

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Ode to the Crosne

Last week, after hearing too many references to celeriac and not ever having tried it, let alone seen it, I asked my friends at Specialty Produce if they carried the root. Sure enough they did and invited me to come by and pick some up to try. Which I did -- and will write about in another week or so. But, while I was there and reviewing recipes with their Kelly Orange, I noticed a reference to crosnes. Yet another mystery to me. Kelly sent me home with a bag of them as well. And I wrote about them in last week's Local Bounty blog, which I write for San Diego Magazine.

Take a look at these tubers. They're quite small -- perhaps up to three inches long at most. And, they aren't very appetizing looking -- really like little grubs. But don't let their looks put you off. They're crispy and have a lovely, delicate sweet and nutty flavor reminiscent of sunchokes.

Crosnes were introduced in the West in the 1880s by a French farmer and writer, who received them from an important collector of Chinese plants, a Dr. Bretschneider. A Frenchman named Palillieux loved the plant and started producing them. He gave the little tubers (officially Stachys affinis) the name of Crosne—his village. He did such a great job growing and marketing them that they became a hit across Europe. In England, they became known as Chinese artichoke—probably referencing Jerusalem artichokes, although they have nothing to do with Jerusalem or artichokes. It's the flavor they were likely capturing.

Locally, they're grown at in California at Weiser Family Farms, which is where Specialty Produce gets theirs.

So, what do you do with these little plants? The easiest preparation, which will also introduce you to their crunchy, slightly nutty flavor, is to saute them in garlic and either butter or a nutty oil, touched with just a little salt and pepper. However, they're irresistible pickled -- as a snack or for cocktails -- or marinated. I marinated mine yesterday and made a light salad, adapting a recipe I found in the wonderful reference book Vegetables from Amaranth to Zucchini by Elizabeth Schneider. 










Marinated Crosne, Carrot and Cherry Tomato Salad with Dill
Serves 4

3/4 pound of crosnes and baby carrots, ideally a mix of half and half
2 small scallions
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
4 tablespoons rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon dried dill
3 tablespoons mirin (syrupy Japanese rice wine)
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 pint cherry tomatoes
Optional: fine-snipped fresh dill

1. Rinse crosnes, trim loose rootlets. Slice carrots in half.
2. Drop crosnes and carrots in a large pot of boiling, salted water. Return to boil and blanch for 1 minute. Drain and refresh in cold water to stop the cooking process. Drain and spread on a towel to dry and cool.
3. Cut apart light and dark parts of scallions. Mince the light part and add to a small bowl with rice vinegar, dried dill, and mirin. Blend, then drizzle in oil and whisk to emulsify.
4. Transfer the crosnes and carrots to the bowl and mix with the dressing. Chill for about three hours.
5. To serve, halve the tomatoes and thinly slice the green part of the scallions. You can place the crosnes and carrot mixture on a bed of lettuce or just on the plate. Add the tomatoes and sprinkle with the scallion greens and fresh dill.

Note that you don't need to peel the skin off the crosnes, although Schneider suggests rinsing them, putting them on a towel, sprinkling with coarse salt and rubbing the tubers with the salted towel to get the skin off. Me? I just rinsed them and left the skins on and they were fine.

Currently, the only place I know in San Diego that sells crosnes is Specialty Produce. If you've found them elsewhere, let me know.


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Fall Fest -- Finally -- and It's All About Spinach!

Spinach. You can saute it, turn it into a salad, a quiche, a souffle, or spanakopita. Add it to an omelet or frittata. Use it in lasagna or a pasta sauce or soup. It's one of my favorite greens but it can sometimes seem a little tame these days, compared to the sharp spiciness of arugula or strong stemmed kale. Nevertheless, it's completely utilitarian, delicious, and so ridiculously nutritious (we're talking high levels of vitamins A and C, along with iron and calcium) that it's a frequent player in my kitchen and, no doubt, in yours, too.

I just finished reading the uncorrected proofs of a new cookbook by Terra chef/owner Jeff Rossman. Called From Terra's Table, the book will be out in November and I've already written it up for my Local Bounty column in San Diego Magazine. I don't want to step on that but when I came across Jeff's recipe for Mixed Mushroom Ragout with Herb-Polenta Cake and saw that it includes Swiss chard in the polenta, I thought, "Bingo!" because I knew I could swap out the chard for spinach and have a very cool recipe for this week. And, Jeff gave me his blessing to do it for this. I made it last week, using beautiful crinkled Bloomsdale spinach that I found at Specialty Produce. One of the reasons I really love and recommend this Savoy variety is that it holds up well to cooking instead of immediately collapsing like flat leaf spinach.

Specialty Produce also had several kinds of exotic mushrooms so I pulled out a mix of gorgeous red lobster mushrooms, a very lively looking hand of oyster mushrooms, and little fresh shitakes.*

Between the mushrooms, the spinach, and the polenta, you have an earthy vegetarian dish rich in flavor. And, the recipe is pretty easy for a home cook -- so long as you have everything prepped before you start cooking. It also makes a lot of food. I halved the recipe and still had many portions of the polenta.

Mixed Mushroom Ragout with Herb-Polenta Cake
from From Terra's Table by Jeff Rossman
Serves 4 to 6
Total Time: 4 hours, Active: 1 1/2 hours

Herb-Polenta Cakes
1/2 cup olive oil
2 cups yellow onions, diced
2 cups assorted chard, cut into 2-inch pieces (I substituted spinach)
12 cups chicken or vegetable stock
4 cups polenta or yellow corn meal
1/4 cup fresh rosemary, chopped
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
1/4 cup scallions, sliced
1 cup freshly grated Asiago or Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1/2 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper

Mushroom Ragout
1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil or grapeseed oil
1 pound mixed mushrooms
1/2 pound leeks, washed and cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup white wine (any non-oaky kind that you would drink)
8 tablespoons unsalted butter

1. In a large pot, saute the onions and chard (or spinach) in the oil until tender. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Whisk in the cornmeal slowly to avoid lumps. Stir over medium-high heat. Add the remaining ingredients and cook until thick. You can serve this creamy polenta now or continue to make the cakes. Pour the mixture into a plastic-lined baking dish or loaf pan (Note: I just coated the pan with oil) and chill (at least 2 to 3 hours). When ready to serve, cut the polenta into discs or squares and reheat them on a hot griddle or in a saute pan. (Note: I poured some on a salad plate for dinner and the rest into an 8 X 8-inch pan--remember, I halved this recipe--and by the time I had made the ragout, it was about set).
2. For the ragout: in a saute pan over medium-high heat, add olive oil and stir in the mushrooms and leeks. (Note: lobster mushrooms are fairly hard in texture so if you use them, give them a head start in in the saute pan before adding the rest of the softer mushrooms.) Continue cooking until tender, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and add the white wine. Cook for another minute, until the wine burns off slightly. To finish the sauce, whisk in the butter and emulsify. Serve over the hot polenta cakes.

So, here's what are my Fall Fest colleagues are up to:

Todd and Diane at White on Rice Couple: Tuna and Spinach Bruschetta
Cate at Sweetnicks: Spinach Egg Breakfast Cup
Marilyn at Simmer Till Done: Spanakopita Scones
Alana at Eating from the Ground Up: Spicy Indian Lentil Soup with Spinach
Gilded Fork: Spicy Artichoke Spinach Dip, and a Dossier on Spinach
Nicole at Pinch My Salt: Spinach and Sausage Soup
Caroline at the Wright Recipes: Spinach Rotolo, a rolled ricotta and pasta extravaganza
Alison at Food2: Spinach Artichoke Dip
Michelle at Cooking Channel: Paneer With Spinach
Kirsten at FN Dish: Everyday Spinach Dishes with Giada
Liz at Healthy Eats: Mini Spinach-Mushroom Quiche
Food Network UK: Eggs florentine, brunch of champions
Margaret at A Way to Garden: Why I plant spinach late, and other tasty tidbits

Now It's Your Turn to Join Fall Fest 2010!
This collaborative effort won't be much fun without you! The more info we all give, the more we'll all enjoy fall's harvest. Have a recipe or tip that fits any of our weekly themes? You can contribute in various ways, big or small.

• Contribute a whole post, or a comment—whatever you wish. It’s meant to be fun, viral, fluid. No pressure, just delicious. 
• Simply leave your tip or recipe or favorite links in the comments below a Summer Fest post on my blog any upcoming Wednesday, and then go visit my collaborators and do the same.

The cross-blog event idea works best when you leave your recipe or favorite links (whether to your own blog or someone else’s) at all the host blogs. That way, they are likely to be seen by the widest audience. Everyone benefits, and then we're all cooking with some great ideas. Or go big: Publish entire posts of your own if you wish, and grab the big Fall Fest 2010 pumpkin badge above (illustrated by Matt of Mattbites). We'll also be tweeting using #fallfood as our hashtag. Here's the schedule:

Sept. 1: Sweet and Spicy Peppers
Sept. 8: Garlic
Sept. 15: White (or colorful “white”…but not sweet) Potatoes
Sept. 22: Spinach
Sept. 29: Apples
Oct. 6: Fall Salads
Oct. 13: Pumpkin and Winter Squash
Oct. 20: Pears
Oct. 27: “Mad Stash” (as in what you’re freezing/canning/drying, etc.)
Nov. 3: Root veggies
Nov. 10: Brassicas: incl. Brussels Sprouts, Cauliflower, Cabbage or other
Nov. 17: Sweet Potatoes
Nov. 24: Bounty to Be Grateful For

 *full disclosure: I do some research and editing for Specialty Produce

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