Saturday, September 10, 2011

Brown Rice with Roasted Eggplant


Hiking everyday affords us these incredible views. The wind has picked up the last few days, blowing in the early morning fog and then blowing it back out again. One thing is certain for sure and that is the season is changing. I am going to enjoy whats left of these few summer moments the best I can.

There is something about the perfect combinations of certain foods, eggplant, red onion and garlic is for me now one of them. The black olives give this a little something extra. Something salty and briny that makes you take just one more bite. Brings you back one more time....And as you can see, there's not much left.


Ingredients:

1/2 cup uncooked short grain brown rice
1 1/4 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 medium eggplant (diced 1/2 inch pieces)
1/2 small red onion (diced)
3 cloves garlic (chopped)
10 Kalamata pitted olives (diced)
6 basil leaves
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

To prepare:

Bring water and salt to a boil in a small pot. Add rice, cover and turn down heat, simmer for 40 minutes or until water is absorbed. Preheat oven to 400F. Place diced eggplant, red onion and garlic on baking sheet, mix with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast 30 minutes, until tender. Mix rice and eggplant mixture together, add olives and basil. Then add lemon juice and toss gently to combine. Serve warm. Enjoy!

Friday, September 9, 2011

Fresh Corn and Tomato Salad


As summer nears the end our time here in the Pacific Northwest sadly does as well. I sit on our deck and think about the subtle changes that have already started to occur. The crisp air in the mornings, the changes in the garden and the flocks of birds migrating..... it's all magic. This recipe was inspired by my daughter, who prepared something very similar to this last night for dinner. Use the freshest corn you can find as it is the end of it's season here as well.


Ingredients:

2 ears fresh corn (cut from husk)
1 cup grape red tomatoes (halved)
6 leaves of basil
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1-2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Salt and pepper to season

To prepare:

Whisk together white wine vinegar and olive oil. Set aside.

Remove corn kernels from cob. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, let sit for about 30 minutes or so. Then add tomatoes and vinegar and olive oil mixture. Season to taste. Fresh cracked pepper works really well in this. Let sit another 15 to 20 minutes. Enjoy!

Makes about 2 to 3 servings.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Golden Corn Cakes with Citrus Salad

It's been awhile since I have recorded any of my recipes and although I have been cooking my heart just hasn't been in it. Back in the Pacific Northwest about a month now where I feel the pull of the ocean and all that is good. I garden and weed and at the end of each day I feel just a little bit better.

Sweet corn has been one of our main staples this summer and so the hunt for different ways to prepare them has been my quest. This particular recipe "Golden Corn Cakes With Citrus Greens" was found by a friend in "The Wall Street Journal", by Yotam Ottolenghi. Easy recipe to follow. Would make great appetizers as well. These corn cakes are very flavorful!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup quick cooking polenta, or fine ground cornmeal
1 1/4 cups corn kernels, cut from 1-2 ears of corn
1 small shallot, diced fine (about 3 tablespoons)
1/2 jalapeno, seeds and membrane removed, diced fine (about 2 tablespoons)
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds, roughly mashed
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 cup full fat Greek plain yogurt
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 eggs, separated
4 cups arugula (used lettuce from garden)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup cilantro leaves
1/4 cup sour cream

To prepare:

In a large bowl mix polenta with corn, shallots, jalapeno, cumin, salt and pepper. Add yogurt, 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil and 1 egg yolk (discard the other 2 yolks). Mix well with fork. In a separate bowl, beat all egg whites to soft peaks. Carefully fold whites into corn batter in two stages. Let rest 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, make dressing. Whisk 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil with lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Set large  nonstick frying pan over medium heat for 1-2 minutes. Pour in 1 teaspoon olive oil. Once hot, spoon 2 tablespoons of batter per cake into pan. Repeat until pan is full. Cook cakes 2-3 minutes, or until golden. Flip and cook 1 minute, 0r until golden. Transfer to paper-lined tray. Yield: about 16 cakes.

Toss arugula with cilantro. Add dressing and toss again. Season to taste. Serve corn cakes with a spoonful of sour cream alongside greens.