ASIAN CUCUMBER SALAD

You should really "sweat" your cukes before using them for this salad. What does that mean? Peel them first. Then slice in half. Take a spoon and scoop out the cucumber seeds. Lay cukes on paper towels and salt them. The salt will cause the excess water in the cucumbers to "sweat' out. Turn them over after about a half hour and salt the other sides. Allow them to sit for another half hour. You may need to change the paper towels occasionally.

3/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
4 large cucumbers, peeled and sliced
2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted

Stir together first 6 ingredients in a large bowl. Add cucumbers, tossing to coat. Cover and chill 1 hour. Add sesame seeds, and toss; serve immediately.

Having problems finding sesame seeds or sesame oil? Check out the sesame seeds and oil below.

SPINACH DIP IN A BREAD BOWL

1 package (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry 1 container (16 oz.) sour cream 1 cup mayonnaise 1 package Knorr Vegetable recipe mix (And yes . . . you do NEED Knorr) 1 can (8 oz.) water chestnuts, drained and chopped Mix all ingredients together. Allow to sit in refrigerator at least 1 hour before serving. To make a bread bowl - buy any round loaf of bread. I use to special order a round rye. Now I just buy whatever is available, usually whole wheat. Whatever is your preference.  Take a serrated bread knife and cut out center of bread. Be careful so you do not cut through bottom of loaf. Brush the inside of the cut loaf with melted butter and put in 300 degree oven until it reaches the desired crispness you want. While the loaf is in the oven, you can either rip or cut the center of the bread into pieces for dipping. **I also use celery, carrots, and tortilla chips for dippers.

PENNE WITH ROASTED ASPARAGUS AND BALSAMIC REDUCTION

1 pound fresh asparagus spears

1 tablespoon olive oil

salt

freshly ground black pepper

½ cup balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon light or dark brown sugar

1 pound penne pasta

4 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces

1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut off the tough ends off the asparagus and then cut the asparagus spears into 1-inch pieces. Toss with the oil, and salt and pepper. Roast until tender, about 15 minutes. (I like to roast my vegetables until they are brown. If you are like me, you'll need to add additional roasting time.) Remove from the oven and set aside.

While the asparagus is roasting, put the vinegar in a small saucepan. Simmer over medium heat until the vinegar is reduced to about 3 tablespoons, about 5-10 minutes. Stir in the brown sugar and the remaining ¼ teaspoon pepper. Remove from the heat.

Cook the penne in a large pot of boiling salted water until just done, 11-13 minutes. Drain the pasta and return to the pot. Stir in the butter and vinegar mixture. Toss to combine well. Add in the asparagus, and Parmesan. Add additional salt if you desire. Serve immediately with additional Parmesan cheese for serving.

Pan-Browned Brussels Sprouts with Garlic and Pine Nuts

1/2 pound Brussels sprouts
2 large garlic cloves
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons pine nuts

Trim Brussels sprouts and cut in half lengthwise. Slice garlic into very thin slices. In a 10-inch heavy skillet (preferably well-seasoned cast iron) melt 1 tablespoon butter with oil over medium heat and cook garlic, stirring, until pale golden. Transfer garlic with a slotted spoon to a small bowl. Reduce heat to low and arrange sprouts in skillet, cut sides down, in one layer. Sprinkle sprouts with pine nuts and salt to taste. Cook sprouts, without turning, until crisp-tender and undersides are golden brown, about 15 minutes.

Transfer sprouts to a plate, browned sides up. Add garlic and remaining 1/2 tablespoon butter to skillet and cook over medium heat, stirring, until pine nuts are more evenly pale golden, about 1 minute. Spoon mixture over sprouts and sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper.

Roasted Peppers

I'm on a roasted pepper kick. I've probably roasted a dozen red bell peppers this week. I did eight today because I want to try that pepper gratin recipe that I was talking about last week. I'll peel them and slice them tomorrow. I also made pickles.

Bike Week prep - we now have a cocktail shaker. We'll need it for "Cocktail of the Day". And I got the recipe for those pineapple upside down cake shots. Mmmmmmm.

Farmers Market

I got up at an obnoxiously early hour and found myself driving in the rain to the Saturday farmers market off Orange Street. It was packed. they always have a nice crowd but I didn't think there would be that many people out in the rain.

I bought Honeywell oranges.



And massive quantities of strawberries.


I'm going to try a Rachel Ray recipe. I can't stand her, but the recipe sounds kinda simple and I have lots of strawberries. Stuffed roasted stawberries.

I have many large strawberries and I thought I could try this instead of dipping them in chocolate.


I also bought organic green onions. They are HUGE. I'm going to use them in a sausage casserole for dinner, since I actually managed to find shredded white cheddar in Florida. It's next to impossible to find. I cleaned out the dairy case. Why Floridians have such an aversion to white cheese . . . I'll never understand.

Baby eggplants also caught my eye. I think I am going to grill them with my steaks tomorrow.

I'll chop and freeze one red pepper and then I'll use the other in the casserole.

The only thing I didn't take a pic of are the baby red skinned potatoes. If it stays rainy and cool, I'm making clam chowder on Monday. Or maybe I should make it tomorrow for Monday. Hmmmm . . .

Chile Cheese Soup

Since I'm now cooking for one most times, I usually freeze half of this recipe, sans cheese. Good tomatoes are very important. If it's not tomato season, I strongly suggest you put out the extra money and purchase hothouse tomatoes.

4 cups of rich beef stock
10 garlic cloves, peeled
4 large tomatoes (Tomatoes need to be good quality and ripe)
3 medium onions, quartered
1/2 tsp mixed dried herbs
1 scant tsp of sugar (I use Splenda)

1 medium onion, cut into thin rings (I usually halve the rings,)
2 jalapeno peppers, cut into thin rings ( I leave seeds in because I like the soup to be spicy)
1 red bell pepper, seeded, cut into thin rings or chopped
1 cup of sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup of mozzarella cheese


I couldn't find four large tomatoes - at least not of the quality I needed so I used nine small. You do not need to remove the skins. I just use my tomato shark to remove the tops.

In large saucepan, bring broth, garlic, tomatoes, quartered onions, herbs, and sugar (or sugar substitute) to a gentle boil. Reduce heat to simmer and continue cooking for thirty minutes. Puree in blender or food processor and return to pan. ( I do half at a time)



Add onion rings and peppers and simmer until tender, about fifteen minutes.

Toss together cheeses. Ladle soup into serving bowls. Add cheese and stir gently. Serve.

The Farmers Market

I went to the farmers market today. I kinda went apeshit. I bought Concord grapes, yellow pear cherry tomatoes, pickling cukes, garlic, fresh corn, red and green bell peppers, zucchini, onions, scallions, fresh broad leaf parsley and the most beautiful ginger root I have ever seen.

So, of course, I came home and used most of it. I made corn salad.



I also made pickles. I couldn't find fresh dill there though, and I ended up having to visit three grocery stores before I could find any.



I'm packing it all up tomorrow for my trip to Georgia. I'm hoping that Aleta will make her fried chicken if I show up with food gifts.

Capellini with sausage and spinach

Quite easy and tasty. Hopefully you won't get e. coli from the spinach.

2 tsp olive oil
1 pound of sweet Italian sausage, sliced in 1/2 slices
1 large onion, chopped
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
2 cans (14 oz. each) chicken broth
1/4 cup of water
8 oz. of capellini or vermicelli pasta, broken in half
2 bags (10 oz. each) fresh spinach, coarsely chopped
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
1/3 cup heavy or whipping cream

Heat oil in Dutch oven or stockpot over medium-high heat. Add sausage and cook 3 to 4 minutes, turning as it browns. Add onion and garlic and cook 2 to 3 minutes, until lightly browned.

Add broth and water to pot. Cover and bring to a boil. Add pasta and cook 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Add spinach and pepper and cook, stirring spinach into pasta and sauce, 2 to 3 minutes more, until past is al dente and spinach is wilted. Stir in cream. Serve immediately.

Broccoli Salad

I just made this and took it to a Tyndal family celebration. Travels well.

I got this recipe when I worked at the domestic violence shelter. It's easy and everyone always wants the recipe. Thanks, Deb!

Head of broccoli, in bite size pieces
4 - 5 slices of cooked bacon
1 small onion, chopped
1 (8 oz.) pkg of mozzarella cheese

1 cup mayo
½ cup sugar
2 TBS vinegar

Mix these ingredients together to form a sauce. Pour over broccoli, onion, and bacon.

Fresh Corn Salad with Vidalia Onion

Another shelter recipe. We really liked to eat there. This one was brought in by the boss. she served it over cold spaghetti, but I like it on it's own.

Kernels from 6 ears fresh corn
1 large Vidalia onion
2 medium zucchini
1 bunch of scallions
1 sweet red pepper
1 green pepper
½ cup fresh chopped parsley
2 tsps mustard seed

DRESSING
1 clove of garlic
2 tsps of Dijon mustard
2 tsps sugar
1 tsp hot sauce
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
2/3 cup of oil or vegetable oil

Cook corn in boiling water for 3 minutes. Drain and cool. Slice off kernels. Toss them with other vegetables and herbs. Set aside. Whisk together the dressing ingredients and add to corn mixture.