Fresh summer pasta

Sugo [ fresh raw tomatoes, garlic, basil, oregano, marjoram, mint, shiso (perilla), thyme, salt, pepper, olive oil ]

Summer fruit salad

North fork scallops

Fresh sea scallops, tarragon apple beurre blanc [ red onion, garlic, grated apple, tarragon, white wine, butter, finished with diced fresh apple ]

Greenport dinner Friday.

Seared tuna, green beans in rosemary oil, basil mash [ potato, milk poached garlic, fresh basil, lemon zest ]

Friday sandwich.

Fresh baguette, farm stand tomatoes, fresh basil, blue cheese.

Palestinian Chicken with greens

Thanks to Diane for the recipe inspiration. The chicken is sauteed with garlic, lemons, chili peppers, and fresh herbs. Diane had used rosemary. I had a bunch of fresh savory from the farm share and that worked great too.
Served with Greek style 'mashed' greens. I ran lots of kale, garlic and onion through the food processor to make a very finely chopped mix, which was cooked over a low heat with in olive oil. I added a little stock as it cooked to keep it moist, left the lid on for a bit, and added a little sherry vinegar towards the end, cooked that off, and then a few tablespoons of Greek yoghurt.

Two Gelato Recipes

Both of these home made gelati have the same egg custard as their base. They only differ in their flavouring. Using milk rather than cream makes for a lighter dessert.

Apricot Orange Gelato

4 egg yolks

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 1/2 cups of full milk

Peel of a nice big fragrant orange (outer skin only with none of the pith)

1 teaspoon of Grand Marnier

A few drops of good quality vanilla extract

2-3 ripe apricots pitted and diced into small pieces

Put the egg yolks and the sugar in a bowl and beat them until the mix is a soft yellow colour and begins to form ribbons when you lift out the whisk.

Put the milk and the orange peel into a saucepan and heat to a low simmer. Do not allow to boil. Simmer a little and then turn off the heat. You can let the peel sit in the hot milk for a while to get the flavour out.

Take the peel out and begin to drizzle the hot milk into the egg mix. Do this very gradually. You want the mix to adjust to the hot milk little by little, otherwise you will cook the eggs, and you'll have to start again. Slow and steady, in batches, with lots of whisking in between. If you have en electric mixer you can just leave it running and drizzle the milk in using a ladle.

Add the Grand Marnier (or Cointreau) and a few drops of vanilla essence. If you don't have good quality vanilla essence you can just leave it out.

Transfer the mix to a heavy bottomed saucepan and heat over a medium-low heat stirring constantly. You want to heat the custard gently without over-cooking it. If you have a sugar thermometer, heat to a temperature of 165 F or 80 C. It should never boil or come to a full simmer.

Take the mix off the heat and mix in the diced apricots. Leave to cool completely, then freeze in an ice cream machine.

Mexican Chocolate Gelato

4 egg yolks

3 discs of Mexican Chocolate (if using Ibarra - otherwise about 9 oz or 270 g)

3 cups of full milk

3 Tablespoons of good quality cocoa

A few drops of good quality vanilla extract

2 Tablespoons of sugar

Like above, whisk the eggs to ribbons, but this time you don't need any sugar as the Mexican chocolate already has lots.

Heat the milk gently in a heavy bottomed saucepan and then mix in the chocolate chopped into small pieces, and sift in the cocoa. Stir to dissolve and make a nice smooth chocolate mix. Do not allow to boil.

As above drizzle the chocolate mix into the eggs, making sure not to cook the eggs.

Add a couple of drops of vanilla if you like.

Return the mix to the saucepan and as above heat to cook the custard gently (to 165 F or 80 C). It should never boil or even come to a full simmer. Turn off the heat.

In a second pan mix the sugar and 2 teaspoons of water together and cook over a high heat until the sugar bubbles and becomes golden brown. Immediately whisk this into the chocolate mix. It will crystallize at first, but keep whisking and it will mix in nicely.

Allow to cool fully and then freeze in an ice cream maker.

Notes:

Mexican chocolate is pretty widely available in the US. If you need to substitute, use the same amount of good quality chocolate and add 3/4 cup of sugar to the eggs as in the Apricot recipe. And add a little pinch or two of cinnamon to taste.

It's also very important to taste your ice cream before you freeze it. Taste for a nice balance between sweetness and flavour.

You can use peaches too instead of apricots. If the fruit you have is a bit hard you can heat the chopped fruit gently with a little sugar and water before you use it.

Two pork sandwiches

Toasted bread, sliced roast pork, home made kimchi.

Toasted bread, sliced roast pork, cherry tomatoes, mustard aioli, fresh savory.

Summer continues

Cucumber gazpacho [ cucumber, shiso leaf, chopped tomato ]

Prawns grilled with curried spices and fresh orange segments

Grilled baby summer squash with olive oil and savory

And I forgot to take a picture of dessert - home made Mexican chocolate gelato with macerated cherries

Night flash photography for dinner with our French friends

Quoc's fresh spring rolls. [ shrimp, rice noodle, bean sprouts, basil, mint, cilantro, rice paper ] with a sauce of hoi sin, lime juice, and sriracha. 

Grilled tofu with Vietnamese caramel [ 1 cup sugar, 3/4 cup fish sauce, black pepper, 4 sliced shallots ]

Cucumber and tomato salad with shredded shiso, salt  and lemon juice.

BBQed centre cut pork in a marinade of lemongrass, garlic, ginger, green onions, brown sugar, lime juice, allspice, black pepper, soy sauce, rice vinegar, fish sauce.

Vietnamese style salad [ shredded red and white cabbage, carrots, daikon, peanuts, cilantro, mint leaves ] in a dressing of rice vinegar, lime juice, chili, red onions, sugar, fish sauce.

Grilled baby summer squash with oilive oil, salt, and fresh tarragon

Post #100 - Kitchen disasters 01

When making caramel sauce (this one was for a Vietnamese caramel & black pepper sauce) do not use a plastic spatula. As the sugar is bubbling away you'll notice small flecks of white plastic melting into your caramel. Then on discovering your mistake do not try and pick out the plastic (burnt finger) and then do not pour it into a metal bowl and stick a slotted wooden spoon into the rapidly hardening sugar and plastic mix. 

Branzino with summer salads

On the grill with dill and lemon.

Ready for action.

Summer salad spread.

Super simple and really fresh and delicious. 

Sliced Japanese sweet turnip with peaches, shiso (perilla) and lemon juice.

You could use daikon or jicama in place of the turnip.

Beets marinated in caraway, vinegar, sugar, and olive oil over mixed greens with labneh.

Sliced summer squash and carrot in scapece. The veggies are sauteed lightly separately and then tossed while warm with a little red wine vinegar, salt, mint, and basil.

A raita of sorts. Sliced cucumbers with cherry tomatoes, garlic, natural yoghurt and mint.

Saturday grill

Jerk pork. Marinated in a jerk sauce overnight [ green onions, allspice, garlic, ginger, chili, nutmeg, cinnamon, lime juice, soy sauce (!) ] and grilled on the BBQ.

Grilled summer squash with olive oil & tarragon

Pork kefta [ ground pork, cumin, sumac, pistachios, chili ]

Spanish pickled garlic

2xhummus

1 [ spicy with chipotle chili, garlic, lemon, cumin ]

2 [ lemon, thyme, zataar ]

Summer salad [ sliced sweet Japanese turnips, sliced peaches, shredded shiso, salt, olive oil, lemon juice ]

Grilled chicken wings in a chipotle molasses BBQ sauce [ onion, garlic, chili powders, tomato, vinegar, chipotle, honey, brown sugar, molasses, peanut butter ]

Raita with fresh home grown tomatoes, cucumbers, yoghurt, salt, garlic, mint

Zucchini bread

a sweet vegetable 

Summer salad

Mixed greens, peaches, raw sweet Japanese turnips, lemon juice, mint, olive oil

And grilled marinated chicken [ baharat, lemons, garlic ]

Squash size queen

Look at what was growing next door! My neighbour Carolyn and I have been pottering in my next door neighbour's yard when we have the time, helping him weed and planting a few things. Her wonderful gardening blog 'The bark tree' is linked over on the right. We planted a few zucchini seeds a while back, and while I was weeding today I found this wee laddie attached to a zucchini bush.

Middle Eastern Chicken Salad

Lettuce, the first home grown tomatoes of the season, cucumber, Japanese sweet turnips, marinated chicken [ baharat, garlic, lemon ], chives, basil, zataar, lemon juice, olive oil.

Twin spiced vegetables

Potatoes sauteed with curry powder onions cumin and cayenne with yoghurt and fresh chopped garlic scapes thrown in at the end. The heat of the potatoes softens up the scapes nicely so they mellow but stay crunchy.

Mixed greens [kale and chard] cooked with onion, garlic, ginger, paneer, garam masala, coriander, cumin, black pepper, tomato, mushroom broth, cayenne

More Fire Island Grilling

With Searon on the grill. 

Potato roasted in foil with rosemary, garlic, and lemon.

Marinated Rib eye steaks, grilled scallions, foil baked tomatoes with basil.

Prawns grilled with lemon, garlic, and cilantro.

Beer can chicken on the grill on Fire Island

Low resolution Fire Island Independence day grill feasting

Fattoush [ lettuce, tomatoes, grilled crumbled flatbread, zataar ]

Cedar plank grilled salmon

Roasted red and yellow pepper couscous 

Grilled marinated pork tenderloin [ Syrian spice mix, lemons, garlic ]