Reaping the Benefits of Fresh Corn

From top: Close up of the colorful Corn and Tomato salad; Avocado Soup makes for an aesthetically pleasing first course
Sometimes I wonder why summer was so disproportionately blessed with heavenly produce. Trips to the farmer's market are especially rewarding this time of year (and dangerous for the bank account!). Other seasons may have their highlights, but to me, none can compete with summer's produce bounty. Each summer I anticipate the return of the corn-hawking man at the West Valley market, who shouts out the delicious benefits of his wares and his deeply discounted prices. No amount of haggling is needed to convince me to buy some sweet summer corn. Here are 2 recipes- one that I've made countless times over many summers and one new but bound to be a repeat. I hope you are enjoying this season's abundance of fresh produce!

Recipe: Tomato and Corn Salad

Notes: This recipe is a mainstay for my family every summer. It is exactly what I crave on a warm evening. We like to substitute basil or cilantro for the marjoram, but you can use whatever fresh herbs you like.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

4 ears fresh corn, husked

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

3 medium tomatoes, chopped

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

2 tablespoons chopped fresh marjoram

4 large butter lettuce leaves

Procedure:

 Cook corn in large pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 5 minutes. Cool. Cut kernels from cobs.

Whisk oil and vinegar in medium bowl to blend. Add corn, tomatoes, feta, and marjoram; toss to coat. 

From: Bon Appétit, August 2004

Recipe: Avocado Soup with Toasted Corn Kernels

Notes: I used only half of the jalapeno and everyone agreed that it was the perfect touch of heat without overpowering the soup. The recipe recommends serving the soup with cheesy toast.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

4 cloves of garlic, peeled and halved

1 jalapeno chile, seeds removed

4 avocados, halved and peeled

Grated peel of 1 lime and juice of 3 limes

3/4 cup cilantro leaves

Salt and pepper

3 cups chicken broth

2 cups fresh corn kernels

Procedure:

Using a food processor, finely chop 2 cloves of garlic and the jalapeno. Add the avocados, lime peel, lime juice, and 1/2 cup of cilantro leaves; season to taste with salt and pepper. Process until just combined. With the machine running, slowly pour the chicken broth until smooth. If the soup is too thick, add a little bit of water or more broth.

In a small nonstick skillet, toast the corn kernels over medium heat, stirring, until lightly browned. Season with salt and let cool. Stir 1 1/2 cups of the corn kernels into the soup.

Ladle the soup into bowls. Top each with remaining corn kernels and cilantro leaves.

*I believe I ripped this recipe out of a Rachel Ray magazine. However, when I checked on her website, I couldn't find the recipe, but I believe it may be old enough to have been cycled out of their archives.

Salsa Verde

Above: This Lompoc artichoke traveled many miles to the Santa Monica Farmer's Market and to our backyard; the ingredients for this salsa before being whirled together
Father's Day at our house was a fiesta- I made seafood fajitas with a mango-avocado salsa and spicy sour cream. It was also my first time working with scallops and I am a convert! They taste so sinfully buttery even if you haven't added a drop to the recipe and they are super quick and easy to cook. Anyways, the recipe today is actually the appetizer to the Mexican feast above. I made a salsa verde as a dip for artichoke leaves, published in Bon Appetít's April 2007 issue. The sauce is wonderfully tangy and the toasted fennel seeds and capers add levels of complexity to the dip. My family usually just pair our artichokes in humble butter, olive oil or mayo but the stakes have been raised by this recipe. We almost polished off the whole bowl. Fortunately there was some leftover, because my mom had inspiration to try it on some crackly cheesy flatbread and it was amazing! My dad also tried some on a taco and confirmed its versatility with rave reviews. This is my new fav appetizer and I can't wait to try it out at a BBQ or pool party soon! Unfortunately I didn't think to take pictures of the completed appetizer, but trust me, this is a good one to try!

Recipe: Salsa Verde
Ingredients:
1/2 tsp. fennel seeds
1/2 cup Italian parsley leaves
2 tbsp. drained and rinsed capers
3 tbsp. chopped shallot
2 garlic cloves
1 1/2 tbsp. fresh tarragon leaves
1 anchovy fillet
Pinch of dried crushed red pepper
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbsp. whipping cream
2 tsp. Sherry wine vinegar

Procedure:
Heat small skillet over medium heat. Add fennel seeds and toast until aromatic and beginning to darken, about 2 minutes. Transfer seeds to food processor. Add parsley, capers, shallot, garlic, tarragon, anchovy, and crushed red pepper to processor. Puree untill coarse paste forms, scraping down sides occasionally. Transfer to medium bowl. Whiskin in oil, cream, and vinegar. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.)

From Bon Appetit April 2007, pg. 120

Bacon+Cheddar+Pear Quick Bread

Above: A serving suggestion for this bread is as an apertif with a drink before dinner, as shown top, and below, breaking it down to quality ingredients: the shredded and cubed cheddar, chopped bacon, dried pears, fresh rosemary and walnut pieces that come together to make this bread amazing.

I spent most of this morning clearing out old cooking magazines that have accumulated over the years. I simply cannot toss them in the recycling without revisiting the glossy pics and recipes that inspire ambitious menus. I found myself pausing the most often at recipes that utilize all the luscious summer fruits, berries, plums, peaches, etc. I'm especially excited about the Farmer's Market this summer, given the tragic death of our small Farmer's Market in Westwood, I am craving time amongst the stalls piled high with fresh produce. The recipe today, however, is revisiting the theme of the last post about savory breads. Dorie Greenspan, a contributing author to Gourmet and Bon Appetít, and of her own blogwww.doriegreenspan.com, recently featured this Bacon Cheddar and Dried Pear bread. It is an absolutely fantastic recipe! My friend Katie commented that eating a slice is akin to a treasure hunt- one bite brings a gooey cube of warm cheddar, the next a salty crispy bacon bit and the next a sweet and chewy pear piece. I decided to substitute rosemary for the sage in the recipe, and then ended up forgetting to mix it in! I chopped it and sprinkled it over the top last minute, which made for a colorful presentation. Warm from the oven or toasted the next morning with a little bit of butter, this bread is one I plan on definitely making again. It would be fun to play around with mixing different combos of meat, cheese and dried fruit to customize your own version with what you like or have on hand!

Recipe: Bacon-Cheddar Quick Bread with Dried Pears

INGREDIENTS

• 5 bacon slices, chopped
• 1 cup coarsely grated extra-sharp cheddar cheese plus 1/2 cup 1/4-inch cubes extra-sharp cheddar cheese (about 6 ounces total)
• 1 cup finely chopped moist dried pears (about 3 1/2 ounces)
• 1/3 cup walnuts, toasted, chopped
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh sage
• 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 3 large eggs
• 1/3 cup whole milk
• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

PREPARATION

• Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Generously butter 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 2 1/2-inch metal loaf pan. Cook bacon in large skillet over medium heat until crisp. Transfer bacon to paper towels to drain.
• Combine bacon, all cheese, dried pears, walnuts, and sage in medium bowl. Whisk flour, baking powder, salt, and black pepper in large bowl to blend. Whisk eggs, milk, and olive oil in another medium bowl to blend. Pour egg mixture over flour mixture and stir just until dry ingredients are moistened. Add bacon-cheese mixture and stir until incorporated (dough will be very sticky). Transfer dough to prepared loaf pan; spread evenly.
• Bake bread until golden on top and slender knife inserted into center of bread comes out clean, about 55 minutes. Cool bread in pan 5 minutes, then turn out onto rack and cool completely. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Wrap in plastic, then foil, and store at room temperature.
  From Bon Appetít: http://www.bonappetit.com/magazine/2008/10/bacon_cheddar_quick_bread_with_dried_pears

Sundried Tomato Cottage Cheese Muffins

I like recipes that play with expectations, and so I was really curious about this recipe for Cottage Cheese Sundried Tomato Muffins. Tomatoes, basil and cheese aren't ingredients you usually run across in muffins, and I was intrigued how these would taste together in a bakery mainstay. I baked up a batch to bring to work (baristas on long shifts= hungry people willing to try crazy concoctions). Like the recipe says, they are denser than a usual muffin. People said that they reminded them of a quiche, or mini pizzas. Overall, they had a very welcome reception. I think that these would pair nicely with eggs for breakfast or offer something unique in a brunch or tea time spread. I apologize for the lack of photos. My camera is broken and I forgot to use a friend's camera to snap a shot. If I make them again, I will definitely put up the pics! Ingredients note: Trader Joe's sells ground almonds, which help to cut down prep time. Also, I used all-purpose flour with good results.

Recipe: Sundried Tomato Cottage Cheese Muffins
From 101 Cookbooks www.101cookbooks.com/archives/cottage-cheese-muffins-recipe.html

You can use the flour of your choice in this recipe. The original recipe calls for soy flour (great for people looking for a gluten-free option), I use white whole wheat flour - unbleached all-purpose flour will work as well. To grind the almonds I gave them a whirl in my food processor. You are looking for a flour-like consistency - be sure to stop short of turning them into an almond paste.

1 cup plain cottage cheese (low-fat is fine)
3/4 cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated
1/4 cup flour (see headnotes)
1 cup almonds, very finely ground
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes (in oil), finely chopped
1/4 cup basil, finely chopped
1/4 cup water
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 400F degrees. Line a muffin pan with medium-sized paper baking cups, you'll need nine of them.

Put the cottage cheese into a bowl with all but 1/4 cup of the Parmesan cheese, the flour, ground almonds, baking powder, sun-dried tomatoes, basil, water, and eggs, and season with salt, then mix all together.

Spoon the mixture into the muffing cups 3/4 full, scatter with the remaining Parmesan, and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until set, risen, and golden brown. Serve as hot or at room temperature.

Makes 9 muffins.