tribute to summer food

It's been a hot and muggy week here, and the cool rain this morning was a blessing. As much as I wanted to stay curled up under the covers, I got up to teach my 10 am Slow Flow yoga class. I've been teaching on Saturday mornings for a few weeks now, and I've been loving it. It truly was a "Slow Flow" kind of day. I actually felt a little chill in the air. Fall is coming...

But we are still being blessed with the late summer harvest. Thought I'd post some Instagram snaps here.

I love summertime produce... it's nature at its fullest expression: sweet, juicy, and colorful.

one of many, many tomato salads: heirloom tomato, fresh mozzarella, basil, extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper

yellow heirloom tomato with purple basil, extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper

more purple and yellow - color wheel contrast perfected by nature

a tabbouleh-inspired salad: Israeli couscous, cucumber, grape and yellow pear tomatoes, lentils, EVOO, lemon, parsley

shisito peppers, blistered in a searing-hot cast iron pan with olive oil and whole cloves of garlic, plus lime squeezed over top

green and purple basil - so pretty!

crunchy and peppery radishes, enjoyed simply with butter and coarse salt

And let's not forget the fruit, enjoyed in different ways...

jewel-like blackberries in a simple cake, about to go into the oven

apricot jam - a hint of black pepper and lemon was just genius (recipe here)

the best thing about August: peaches!

can't get enough...

chilled canteloupe and basil soup

panzanella and warm marinated olives

We've been getting a lot of different tomatoes lately, including grape tomatoes, yellow pear tomatoes, and beautiful heirloom tomatoes. It truly is one of the best things about summer. If I were really smart about this, I would have turned all these wonderful tomatoes into a marinara sauce to freeze and save for the winter ahead, but lately I just can't help myself. I can't stop eating them! Whether sliced and doused with olive oil and basil...



Or in a sandwich, with a schmear of mayonnaise, coarse sea salt, and lots of cracked black pepper...



Or in panzanella, which is an Italian bread and tomato salad. All this salad needs day-old crusty bread, and gorgeous tomatoes and fresh basil, and just a simple vinaigrette dressing. I made mine a little differently based on what I had in the kitchen; you can always play around with the ingredients. Maybe swap feta for the fresh mozzarella (it may not be traditional, but it's good!). Maybe add some shallots. Do what you like!

Panzanella

For the bread:

• a little shy of half a loaf of day-old, crusty artisan bread
• olive oil
• salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Slice the bread into cubes (about half an inch or so). I would estimate that I had about 4 cups of cubed bread (maybe!). Spread onto a baking sheet pan, then drizzle olive oil on top - not a lot, just a little bit to help the bread brown nicely. Season with salt and pepper. Toss everything together with your hands to distribute the olive oil, then bake for about 10-12 minutes until they are crunchy and golden brown around the edges.

This may seem like an unnecessary step; you might be thinking, why toast it and let it get crunchy only to soak it in dressing later? But I think letting it toast in the oven lets it dry out even further so that it can soak up all that flavorful dressing more.

For the rest of the salad:

• lots of tomatoes - I used one very large heirloom tomato, one medium red tomato, and about 10 sun-dried tomatoes, rehydrated in hot water for 10 minutes, then chopped (sun-dried tomatoes aren't necessary here, but I like them)
• 1 large garlic clove
• 1 small onion (shallots would have been better, but I didn't have any), chopped small; about 1/4 cup
• about 1/2 cup of fresh mozzarella, in small cubes
• about 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• about 1/4 cup of your best extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper
• lots of fresh basil

While the bread is in the oven, make the dressing. In a large bowl, mix the red wine vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper (you can season generously as this makes a large salad!) Mince the garlic clove with a little salt - whenever I use garlic for a raw preparation, I like to do it this way because the salt helps break down the garlic a little bit. Chop the onion (or shallot). I didn't want raw onions in here as they might overpower the tomatoes, so I decided to roast the onion slightly in the oven as well (the oven was already hot anyway!) to sweeten them a bit and make them less pungent - probably not even 10 minutes. If I had shallots, I probably wouldn't have roasted them as they are more mellow than regular onions. Add the roasted onions (or shallots) to the dressing.

Chop the tomatoes and add them (including any tomato juice that collects on your cutting board) to the bowl. Add the crunchy bread as well, and toss everything together so that the bread soaks up the dressing. Toss in the fresh mozzarella, and simply tear the fresh basil leaves over the bowl.

Check for seasoning, and adjust as necessary. Allow the salad to sit for about 10 minutes (it gets better!), if you can wait that long :)

The salad was a study of contrasting textures and flavors: croutons softened by a slightly tangy, fruity olive oil dressing, plump, juicy tomatoes at the peak of their sweetness, chewy sun-dried tomatoes, and mild, creamy mozzarella, and fresh, sweet basil. Yum. As I was eating it, I was already thinking about how much I would enjoy the leftovers for lunch the next day. I know. I think ahead like that. 

This was an easy weeknight dinner, along with some warm marinated olives - simply a mix of a variety of olives from Whole Foods' antipasto bar, which I packed into a glass jar (with the olive oil it comes in), and set into a small pot of simmering water for about 20-30 minutes. This was inspired by a visit to Flour (a nearby Italian restaurant) last weekend. Warm marinated olives are a part of their appetizer list; and interestingly, we never ordered them before, thinking, oh, it's just olives - I can have them at home anytime, why would I order it at a restaurant? But we decided to get them on our last visit and it was a revelation. We were in olive heaven (a little dramatic, I know).  I've always loved olives. Little did I know that enjoying them warm takes them to a whole other level. (I'm not the last one to learn about this, am I?) Letting them sit in a hot water bath allows the flavors to bloom, and it's just worlds better than the usual cold olives in typical antipasto platters. I guess it's a similar concept as letting cheeses sit at room temperature for a little bit - not serving it straight out of the fridge - before enjoying it on a cheese platter. Believe me. Give it a try. You'll never go back to cold olives.

this should be my uniform

image source

Case in point.

#cakeforbreakfast

not your typical green beans... and a recipe for loubie bzeit

I know it must seem like I don't eat anything else but shortbread, ice cream, and cake, but I do eat real food. I mean non-dessert food. I promise. If in doubt, check out my food page here, and you'll see some variety in what I eat, beyond dessert.

Recently we got these beautiful dragon's tongue beans in our weekly produce bag from Fresh Fork Market.



Aren't they pretty? I love the purple striations against yellow. I've never cooked or tasted these before, so I was really excited thinking about what to make with them.

Unfortunately, after some reading on the Internet I found out that the purple striations disappear after cooking. Sad! Just like how the striations in Chioggia beets disappear after cooking as well.

At any rate, I suddenly thought of the Lebanese dish called Loubie Bzeit - a slow-cooked green bean stew with tomatoes, onion, garlic, tomato and spices. 

We also had these gorgeous tomatoes, which I thought would be perfect for this dish. I know - sometimes I think it's a crime to cook summer tomatoes, when they are at their juiciest and sweetest state best enjoyed as is, sprinkled with a little sea salt to bring out their sweetness, or in a caprese salad with basil and creamy, fresh mozzarella or the even more indulgent burrata.

However, A. also recently started requesting heartier "cooked" meals besides the light/raw summer salads I've been preparing. And you know me - when I get a culinary request, I deliver. Except when he almost threatened (in a good way) to enter me into the Food Network's Chopped. Highly unlikely as I don't have a single competitive bone in my body. And, forget about competing, I might just (shamelessly) join the judges at the judges' table and sample all the delicious meals cooked that day.

Anyway, I digress, as always... the stories just somehow sneak their way into my recipe writing.

So here's the recipe. I don't know if it's perfectly authentic...lest I offend any Lebanese cooks out there. Let's just say it's my version. Feel free to play around with the measurements; the spice measurements are only approximations as I didn't measure precisely. When in doubt, start with a small amount; you can always add more later.

Loubie Bzeit

• 1 lb green beans or, in my case, dragon's tongue beans, washed, trimmed, and sliced into 1-inch pieces (no need to be too precise here)
• olive oil - a generous glug, enough to cover the bottom of the pan
• half a large onion, chopped
• ground cinnamon - about 1/4 teaspoon
• ground allspice - about 1/2 teaspoon
• ground cumin - about a 1/4 teaspoon
• half a head of garlic, peeled and cloves left whole, or cut in halves if they are large cloves (I know it sounds like a lot of garlic, but I promise this makes it so good)
• 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
• salt and pepper
• a pinch of sugar

Heat olive oil in a heavy-bottomed skillet, over medium heat. Saute the onion with a little salt and pepper (season as you go!) until soft. Add the cinnamon, allspice, and cumin; saute to bring out the flavors, but be sure to keep scraping the bottom so the spices don't burn or stick. Add the tomatoes (and any tomato juice that collects on your cutting board) and the garlic, and let cook until the tomatoes break down somewhat and the garlic infuses the tomatoes. Add the beans, season again with a little salt and pepper as well as a pinch of sugar, then add about 1/4 cup of water to help soften the beans. Cover the pan, then once the sauce is bubbling lower the heat to let it cook gently.

Unfortunately I didn't time how long this took - I would say at least 15 minutes after the beans are in, but possibly more (I should be better at noting these things down!). The beans should be very soft, but not mushy, and the sauce should have thickened (but it shouldn't be too saucy). If the liquid is too thin or watery, let it simmer uncovered to reduce the liquid. The garlic should be soft as well. Check for seasoning and adjust as needed.

Serve with steamed basmati rice or crusty bread for mopping up the delicious sauce. The beans were soft and sweet, but not overly so; the tomato flavor made more complex by the spices.

As A. is my daily food critic, I always ask: "Do you like it enough for me to make it again?" To that he mumbled, yes, in between mouthfuls.

I had the leftovers for lunch today, and discovered it's good even when cold or at room temperature as well.

Going...

Going...

...gone!

"Mia and Jeni" doesn't really have a good ring to it, but...

...I think I have a new culinary idol, a bit like Julie Powell's admiration for Julia Child:

Jeni Britton Bauer of Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams.

Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams scoop shop in Chagrin Falls, Ohio

photo by my brother Carlo

photo by my brother Carlo

I am not much of a cookbook hoarder. I remember browsing through Half-Price Books and purchasing a few cheap, not-that-great cookbooks that ended up gathering dust (and ended up being either donated or sold back to Half-Price Books). Apart from cookbook "classics" like Julia Child and Marcella Hazan, I am more inclined to get books on the fundamentals, such as Ratio by Michael Ruhlman (I want to get this one as well, also by Ruhlman.). And by the way, whoever said Cleveland is the "Mistake By The Lake" is so wrong - we have an acclaimed food writer, and a food scene that can rival any other city here in the US. We have amazing restaurants, excellent pastries and French macarons that I'm certain can hold their own against Ladurée in Paris (not that I've been there, but...) and community-supported agriculture. And we have an Iron Chef.

(I'm not even a born-and-bred Clevelander nor Ohioan, let alone a born-and-bred American. Still, I always think it's good to appreciate the gifts of any city/state I live in. But let's not get into the Cleveland winters.)

Ok, I deviate. Back to the original topic.

When I saw that Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home cost just $14 on Amazon, I decided to go for it.

Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home

It is a lovely, lovely book. I've tried two recipes so far (just simple ones for now - vanilla frozen yogurt, roasted strawberry buttermilk) and they are spot on - just like the ice cream you would get at her scoop shop or her website. I personally think that it is in the simplest concoctions, with relatively few ingredients, that you can see the value of a really good, fundamental recipe - that when all these ingredients are mixed together in the right proportions and work together in perfect chemistry, the flavor of each ingredient truly shines. So yes, maybe it's a little premature because I've only tried a few recipes - but ice cream calls for the same custard/ice cream base to which flavors, fruits, nuts, etc are added. And I already know, this basic recipe is a winner.

And the thing about really good ice cream is - when you use quality ingredients (no nonfat or other shortcuts here!), the fresh flavor and lingering, creamy mouthfeel is just so exceptional that it doesn't take a whole lot of ice cream to feel satisfied*. So our freezer is filling up! Help?

My next project though is Scarlet and Earl Grey ice cream, because I love anything Earl Grey. Yup, I've been bonding with my ice cream maker.

But more than the recipes, Jeni also wrote about the backstory of business, her commitment to local farmers, artisans, and suppliers or vendors at her nearby North Market in Columbus. She included stories, pictures, and descriptions of the farmers themselves. I think what the book highlights, aside from the recipes, is that "it takes a village" to make these splendid ice creams.

It's something I've been thinking about as well for my little cookie venture. I contacted a family-run dairy farm for butter - as shortbread calls for the best butter you can find.

So yes, I kind of feel like Julie in the book/movie "Julie and Julia", wanting to cook my way through a great cookbook. Though I won't try to do what Julie Powell did and cook a new recipe every day for a year, I know this is a cookbook I will thoroughly enjoy.

Homemade vanilla frozen yogurt with strawberries. Take that, Pinkberry!

Roasted Strawberry Buttermilk ice cream. It's not the perfectly sculpted, rounded scoop, but it was SOOO good.

 

* I have to admit to enjoying my homemade version of Jeni's ice cream at 11 am. That counts as lunch, right?

just do it already!

It's been quiet here on the blog over the past week or so, but life has been anything but that.

I've been (happily) covered in flour for the last few days.



I've had a new page in draft form for a while now, and for the past several weeks I had been debating with myself whether to publish it or not. Me and my indecisiveness... if you know me, you'll know that this isn't the first time you've heard me say that.

But over the past year I had been thinking, thinking, thinking about this little project... and I've vaguely mentioned it before...and finally, I thought, why not?

A. is always the one who gives me that extra little push in the right direction... he's the one who tells me, just do it already! And then I was even more inspired by Jen who is courageously going on her new venture, Kitchen 452. My other friend Anne who has gotten her work published in 513{eats}. And then there's Krishna, who launched her own catering company (though on hiatus during her 3-year European adventure). Sharon's writings on the zone of excellence and zone of genius. There is greatness all around me, from which to draw inspiration.



So I'm doing it. Here it is... click on the tab "SHOP" on the upper right corner to see the new page!

As you'll see, this is just a "teaser" announcement while my actual website is in the works.

Baby steps. Sometimes they are the hardest. But once you get over them, you just keep on going. :)

More soon!

Ethiopian food

When I lived in Cincinnati, there was a family-owned and operated Ethiopian restaurant I used to frequent with friends, called Emanu.  Emanu is actually the matriarch in this family. They had AMAZING food. Now, I have never been to Ethiopia or anywhere remotely close to there, so I have no basis for comparison. But regardless, their food was some of the most delicious I've had. It also helps that the people there have been nice to me, and I love the restaurant's minimalist aesthetic. Oh, and the restroom. I even told my friend Anne specifically to check out their restroom and on one visit she actually photographed it! That modern sink...anyway, check out her photos here (not just of the bathroom sink, but the food!)

(I've heard people say that the state of the restroom in a restaurant, I think, is a good indicator of cleanliness in other areas. But I'm not an expert restaurant critic.).

Going back to the topic... At Emanu I would usually get the vegetarian sampler dish which consisted of lentil stew, collard greens, stewed cabbage, and carrots and green beans, served in separate piles on top of injera (soft flatbread made of teff flour - actually a bit more like a spongy crêpe). The lentils had a nice earthy fragrant-spicy (not hot-spicy) flavor... the collards were tender, and the carrots and green beans were soft and almost caramelized from what I suspect is a slow-cooking process.

Ethiopian food | image by eyesopenwide

I haven't had the opportunity to visit this restaurant again, as it is four hours away after all. But recently I got hit by a strong craving. And if there's something you probably already know about me, it's that I do act on my cravings. Sometimes to a fault, especially if it involves Cape Cod salt + vinegar chips. Or Jeni's roasted strawberry buttermilk ice cream.

But my cravings for Emanu's food...something about the flavors of Ethiopian food are so distinct, yet comforting and strangely familiar.

So I was on a mission to make some. We were getting a lot of greens from our CSA, including collard greens, and both A. and I were starting to get pretty tired of my usual sauteed-greens-in-garlic-and-olive-oil staple.

I found these recipes for lentil stew and collard greens and set off to work. Thankfully I had a lot of the spices already thanks to our pretty extensive spice cabinet that could rival a Penzey's store (yes I'm pretty proud of it too!). I chuckle as I type this, as I am actually notorious among my friends because of my (in)famous spice cabinet. Three years ago, I left my apartment in Cincinnati and moved in with my friends CD and MK for about three months while I was in transition between leaving Cincinnati and coming to Kent. Most of my stuff went into storage. My spices, on the other hand, stayed with me. I moved into my CD's spare bedroom and instead of filling the armoire with clothes, I filled it with spices. I'm serious. My friends even photographed the said armoire-turned-spice-cabinet. They called it the "second pantry" in addition to their existing kitchen/pantry. Such that, when one of us was cooking and we needed an ingredient, the other would say, "go check the second pantry." Now I wonder if they can unearth that photo of the second pantry...

Anyway. This isn't so much a recipe post as much as it is just me sharing my experience making Ethiopian food at home. The lentil recipe called for a spice mix called berbere ("bayr-beray"), a complex, heady spice mix with such depth of flavor, made up of about thirty different things. Ok, not really... but thirteen, to be exact: coriander seeds, fenugreek seeds, black peppercorns, whole allspice, white cardamom pods, whole cloves, dried onion flakes, dried chiles de arbol, paprika, ground nutmeg, ground ginger, ground cinnamon, kosher salt. Whew. I know it's a long list, but don't give up on it yet. I promise, it's GOOD.

Clockwise from top: white cardamom, whole coriander, black peppercorns, whole allspice. Aren't they pretty? I know... the things that amuse me...

 Thankfully there were only two things I needed to buy; first was white cardamom. Because I live in a half-Indian household, we already had green cardamom and black cardamom, but not white. I did not even know prior to this that there was such a thing as white cardamom! The second ingredient I needed was dried onion flakes; I typically use fresh onion in cooking, but of course that wouldn't work in a spice mix and I had no intention of dehydrating onions myself. I know I get a bit really crazy in the kitchen but I don't go that far.

Now I know that the spices listed above are probably not in everyone's kitchens - depending on what you like to cook - but let me tell you that making this spice mix is SO. WORTH. IT.

Fenugreek, in different forms (clockwise from top): ground, seed, and dried leaves. Seeds and dried leaves (methi) are from the Indian grocery store. I used the ground and seed form for these recipes.

Be forewarned though that your house will smell like fenugreek and other spices for maybe... um, 2 days. Even with our sliding doors open while I was cooking, the smell lingered. But again - so worth it.

I always like starting with whole spices to the extent possible - I can buy them in larger amounts and store them without the risk of turning stale or losing flavor. I read somewhere that ground spices start to lose flavor after six months. Of course some spices are just convenient to have already ground though, and I do have those as well - I just store them in airtight glass jars and keep them away from light and direct heat (do not store them in those wall-mounted spice shelves right above your stove!).

Dried Indian red chile peppers. I didn't have chile de arbol, but had a large bag of this stuff. I think it worked out well. I actually grind these into red pepper flakes as well, for Italian cooking. 

Cooking always comforts and grounds me. The process is part methodical, part intuitive, and part creative. And just plain rewarding in the end!

I toasted the spices in a skillet, added them to my spice grinder, gave everything a good stir and stored them in small glass jars (and gave a couple of jars to my friends). I took a whiff of the mixture and the fragrance of the spices resulted in a sneezing fit. This is potent stuff, people. Click here for the recipe.

berbere (Ethiopian spice mix)

"How can I describe the result of this blend? It was both masculine and feminine, shouting for attention and whispering at me to come closer. In one sniff it was bright and crisp; in the next, earthy and slow." - Marcus Samuelsson, Yes, Chef: A Memoir (p. 223)

Once the spice mix is done, everything else is so incredibly easy that I couldn't believe it took me so long to try making Ethiopian food. For the Misr Wot (lentil stew): Onions and garlic, sauteed in a combination of olive oil and butter. Red lentils go into the pot with enough water to cover by about an inch or so, along with some tomato, and about a tablespoon of the spice mix. Then it is left to simmer slowly until the lentils are soft, then the spices and seasoning is adjusted before serving.

Good thing the spice mix makes about 3/4 of a cup, and you only need a couple of tablespoons each time -  so you would have enough to make these lentils again several more times before running out.

Red lentils

Next, Ye'abesha Gomen, or the collard greens. Slow-cooked in aromatics (onions, garlic, ginger), chiles, and spices (black cardamom and nigella) until the leaves are so tender, and the flavor is slightly smoky and spicy, and slightly sweet.

Left: black cardamom pods; right: nigella seeds

Both recipes call for Ethiopian spiced butter, but I left that out because I didn't have enough butter on hand at the time (horror of horrors!). I bet it would be out of this world with this special butter mixture.

We ate the lentils and greens with brown rice instead of the traditional injera - what can I say, I'm Filipino and a rice girl through and through (though I'm sure my roti-loving and naan-loving husband would love injera... but that will be a project for another day).

It was so unbelievably good. I was so addicted I made both dishes twice in a week. Then I made both  again a few weeks after that. As you can see, these dishes have been in heavy rotation recently - which is great because it gives us another flavor profile in our already bean- and lentil-centered diet.

If this isn't comfort food, I don't know what is. I know slow-cooking doesn't sound all that appealing during the summer months, but it's also nice to have some variety aside from cold soups and salads.

I won't re-post the recipes here as they are so nicely laid out in the links above - and I really didn't do anything much to adapt the recipes other than to omit the spiced butter in favor of olive oil.

Now if only I can recreate the cheesecake that the restaurant's matriarch makes. As dessert-loving as I am, I'm actually not a cheesecake person - especially most restaurant cheesecakes. I usually find it too dense, heavy, and cloyingly sweet. Emanu's cheesecake on the other hand is like nothing I've tried before - it's unbelievably light and just heavenly. It's made of a mixture of mascarpone and ricotta and goat cheese (I think) with a touch of honey. It is hands-down the best cheesecake I've had. I guess you can't go wrong with a grandmother's cooking. Oh, and the pine nut pound cake...which caused quite a ruckus when I was with two of my friends one time. But let me just blame that on the Ethiopian espresso we had with dessert.

Why I torture myself dreaming of dessert like this when the restaurant is four hours away from me, I don't know. But at least I can now make the lentils and greens and be transported to fond memories with friends in this restaurant.

~

Once again, here are the links to the recipes:
Misr Wot (Ethiopian Lentil Stew)
Ye'abesha Gomen (Ethiopian Collard Greens)
Berbere (Ethiopian Spice Mix)
Nit'r Qibe (Ethiopian Spiced Butter)

monday comic relief: when a man gets between a food lover and her food

So I have a reputation for loving food. So much that, at our wedding reception, both the best man AND bridesmaid's speeches made reference to it - they recounted, through one story or another (ok, there were multiple stories), that my love for food trumps my love for anything else.

Then my husband, who was watching TV one afternoon over the weekend, called me to show me this commercial.

He said, "Watch this. This is you".




Hmmm. Really? That bad??? (with the most innocent face I can muster... between mouthfuls, that is.)

weekend snapshots... and a recipe at the end

I'm all about pink flowers lately.

gerbera daisy

I'm usually more into yellow flowers. But it must be the baby girl fever happening all around me. I know 4 women around me who either have given birth to a baby girl or are expecting a baby girl this year. There's something in the water in Cleveland :)

peony petals starting to open...

I don't usually buy flowers for myself, but I went ahead and got some pink peonies... they truly are special, being available only once a year.

peony in bloom

 Last weekend a group of us hosted a baby shower for a friend, due in the end of July. It was an all-Indian group (except for me - although I've become an honorary Indian now, I guess!). So the weekend involved making a triple batch of palak paneer (spinach and cheese dish) - using 2 bunches of fresh spinach from the CSA and 3 packages of frozen spinach. But it turned out to be a hit - yay!

The baby shower was pretty fun. I planned a few baby games, and thankfully everyone was up for it...

Left: Each guest wrote a suggestion for the baby girl's name on a piece of paper, put it into a jar, and the mommy-to-be opened them one by one to guess who suggested the name. The most fun name in the bunch was Mirchi (spicy!). We all got a kick out of that.

Right: Guests cut a piece of string according to their best estimate of the size of the mommy-to-be's baby bump - without actually measuring her belly. The one with the closest estimate won a prize - a chocolate bar from yours truly. The one who won had the exact measurement! The others were pretty close. Well, what do you expect when half the group are engineers!

 Left: Indian tradition to bless the expecting couple

Right: guests wrote wishes for the baby, which will go in a scrapbook later

I ate. A lot. After coming back from India, I took a break from Indian food (believe it or not!). I do love it and typically crave it at least once a week, but I realized that eating it everyday 3x a day for 2 weeks (in India) took its toll on me. On our way home from our travels, even A. said, "I think we're both Indianed-out" (yes, that's a new technical term he came up with) and decided to have Chinese noodles and dimsum at our Mumbai airport layover.

But at the baby shower, everyone brought food and I ate a little bit of everything - samosas (dumplings with spiced potatoes), pakora (stuffed peppers, battered and fried), channa masala (chickpeas), dal (lentils), the palak paneer A. and I made, gulab jamun (doughnuts in syrup - like their version of beignets, I suppose). Whew. Everything was really good.

So the next day, I needed some lighter food again...

spring salad with radishes and minted peas

Just a few handfuls of lettuce, sliced peppery radishes, and minted peas...

Minted Peas, for the party-food-hangover

about 2 cups of fresh peas, shelled (or frozen peas)
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper
zest of half a lemon
a few squeezes lemon juice
chopped fresh mint

I got these peas from last Friday's produce pickup. I realized later that I should have cooked these the very same day I got them - as fresh peas start converting its sugars into starch the longer it sits. Which is why frozen peas actually tend to be sweeter - because they are shelled and frozen right after they are picked. Although these peas were still good and had a nice snap when you bite into them, they had already lost some sweetness. Note to self...

(On a side note. I'm so thankful to have a husband who is not above shelling peas with me.)

Anyway...

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Salt the water (season from the start!), then add the peas. Meanwhile prepare a bowl of ice water. Once the water comes back up to a boil and the peas are bright green (this happens fairly quickly!), take the peas out of the boiling water and plunge them into the ice bath to stop cooking.

Heat the olive oil and butter in a skillet - I like combining the two for flavor, and also because the olive oil helps with the butter's low smoke point (so the butter doesn't burn quickly). Drain the peas and add them to the skillet. Let cook until heated through, then season with salt (if needed) and pepper, lemon zest, and lemon juice to taste. Add the chopped fresh mint at the end.

This can be a great side for another entree, or as a salad mix-in as we did. I didn't even need extra dressing for the salad, as the peas already had a minty and lemony olive oil and butter flavor. Just a tiny pinch of salt and a few grinds of black pepper over top, and it was good to go. It made for an easy, fresh, and light Sunday dinner after the (over)eating the day before. ;-)

Have any of you eaten fresh peas the same day they were picked? I'd love to hear, as it seems like a luxury nowadays - unless you grow your own, that is.

Off to work. Have a great week!