Lamb Saag Vindaloo

A Vindaloo is usually associated with being the hottest dish on the menu, but not necessarily so. Derived over time from the use of wine or vinegar to add sharpness to the meat dish, as per Portuguese explorers to India in the 15th century, today it is most associated with machismo than flavor per se.

Try this, and enjoy flavor with an edge, but with just enough heat to enhance the combination of a complex mixture (masala) of classic Indian spices.
1 onion
1 large fresh tomato, coarsely chopped, pulsed 10-12 times

3 lb lamb, cubed

1 yellow pepper, diced
1 jalapeño or hot red chili, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 cinnamon stick
4 cloves garlic
1/2- inch fresh ginger, minced

1 Tbsp curry powder
1/2 Tbsp garam masala
1/2 Tbsp ground fenugreek powder
1 Tsp coriander seeds, ground
2 tsp cardamom seeds, ground

1 cup coconut milk
3 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup cider vinegar

2 Tbsp honey

4-6 cups baby spinach leaves, chopped

Pulse the onions about 10-12 times in a food processor to chop finely.

Sauté with a bit of canola oil in a skillet for about 15 minutes, until browned and well caramelized. 

Do the same for the tomato. Pulse 10-12 times in a food processor and then fry in a skillet with canola oil for about 15 minutes, stirring often.

Meanwhile, in a large pot or Dutch oven, brown the lamb cubes, in batches, in a bit of canola oil. Remove lamb to a bowl. In the same pot, sauté the peppers in a bit more canola oil. Add the fennel, cumin and mustard seeds, the cinnamon, along with the garlic and ginger. Cook another 3-4 minutes. Add the curry powder, garam masala, coriander and cardamom along with the coconut milk, broth, vinegar and honey.

Add the sautéed onion and tomatoes and return the lamb to the curry. Stir in the chopped spinach.

Cook about 45 minutes over medium-low heat, stirring once or twice.

Serves 4-6.

Barley Corn Mushroom Risotto

Our CSA just keeps the corn coming - we're up to our ears (I had to...)  Try this creamy, rich and warm comfort dish.
1 onion, diced, about 1 cup
kernels from 2-3 ears corn, about 3 cups
2 Tbsp butter
3/4 cup pearl barley
1 quart vegetable stock
4 oz fresh mushrooms, diced, about 2 cups
2 cloves garlic, minced
10-12 fresh sage leaves, sliced
dash red pepper flakes to taste - about 1/8-1/4 tsp
1 cup dry white wine

Warm the vegetable stock in the microwave. Toast the corn and the onion in the butter for about 10 minutes in a large wide pan, until the corn begins to brown up a bit and the onion softens, and caramelizes.

Set aside in a bowl.

Add a bit of olive oil to the pan and heat to shimmering. Toss in the mushrooms and stir quickly. Let the mushrooms cook down until they release what water they will, and begin to brown. When they are browned and dried, set aside with the corn.

In the same pan, toast the barley in a tablespoon of olive oil, for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the garlic, sage, and red pepper flakes and cook another 2-3 minutes.

Put the warm stock nearby the pan. Add the wine to the barley and cook down until a stroke of a spoon or spatula does not refill the gap formed. Add a ladleful of stock and repeat this processes over and over again, until half the stock is used up and the barley softens considerably.

Return the corn and mushrooms to the barley and add more stock. Continue cooking until the barley is al dente, and the risotto is creamy. You may need to add some more water to continue cooking - don’t use more stock or it could become a bit too salty. Check the flavor as you go. The whole cooking process should take a good 45 minutes to an hour.

Serves 4 as a side dish or 2-3 as a main course.

Bronze Gazpacho with Mint and Basil

Mint and basil add wonderful flavor and give the soup a golden, bronze color of impending Autumn.  Watermelon gives a sweet freshness balanced by a touch of cayenne.
2 cloves garlic
1 orange pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped
1 large cucumber, peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded and coarsely chopped (2 Tbsp reserved)
1 medium purple onion, peeled and coarsely chopped (2 Tbsp reserved)

2 lb fresh ripe tomatoes
1/2 lb seeded, cubed watermelon
Palmful fresh mint leaves
Palmful fresh basil leaves

1 tsp Kosher salt
1/4 tsp Cayenne pepper
1 tsp Pimenton, smoked Spanish paprika

Reserve a few of the chopped onions, tomatoes and peppers, along with some basil, for garnish.

Place garlic in blender and chop well. Add the pepper, cucumber and onion and chop up a good bit.

Add the tomato and watermelon along with the mint and basil.

Add the salt, pepper and paprika and blend everything together very, very well.

If desired, strain through a strainer, or just pour into bowls. Our family actually prefers it coarse.

Serves 4.

Red Lentil Blue Cornbread

Many people have been telling me of the benefits they have experienced by eliminating gluten from their diet.  If you are not suffering from Celiac disease, apparently you may still derive benefit from eliminating gluten, especially regarding troubles relating to joint and muscle pain, and from exhaustion.  I have been told that even 1-2 weeks off gluten can make a huge difference.  If you are troubled by these problems, it may be worth a try.

Leaving gluten behind can mean walking away from some favorites like pasta, pizza and cakes.  But there are some good gluten-free alternatives, so don't despair.  Here is a version of cornbread, one of my favorite cake-type dishes.  It uses buckwheat, which is gluten free.  It also uses blue cornmeal, for fun - you could use regular yellow cornmeal as well.  If you are not going gluten-free, you could certainly use wheat flour to replace the buckwheat flour and get a wonderful blue cornbread.
1 small onion, finely diced
1/2 tsp red chili flakes
6 fresh sage leaves, minced
kernels from one fresh ear of corn
1 small can diced green chilies, drained
2 Tbsp split red lentils (optional)
2 Tbsp roasted pumpkin seeds

Dry ingredients:
1 cup blue corn meal
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Wet ingredients:
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 egg
1 cup almond milk, or cow’s milk
1/2 stick butter, melted

Must be done in advance: If using the red lentils, soak them in a bowl of water, in the refrigerator, overnight. Drain well.

Preheat oven to 425F. In a small pan, sauté the onion, corn, sage and red chili pepper flakes. Cook for about 10 minutes, until the onion and corn have softened and begin to caramelize.

Add the green chilies and mix well.

Meanwhile, oil a 9-inch springform pan or a cake pan. Mix together the dry ingredients in a bowl.  Whisk together the wet ingredients in a separate bowl.

Stir the sautéed veggies into the wet ingredients. Then fold in the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Tip the mixture into the baking pan and top with the pumpkin seeds.

Bake for about 20 minutes, until top is nicely browned, and a test knife poked into the center, comes out dry. Allow to cool for about 10-15 minutes and then remove from springform pan, if using. Slice and serve.

Makes one 9-inch cornbread pie.

Cook's Note:  The red lentils just add a nice protein complement and a bit of crunch to the cornbread, especially of interest for vegetarians or vegans.  They are not a key component of the dish and are definitely optional.

Ginger Mint Buffalo Wings

Indeed, a definite treat.  So go ride your bike or do your favorite workout, and on occasion give yourself a reward. Especially on the last day of summer!
2 lbs roaster winglets

Buffalo Wing Sauce:
1/4 cup Tabasco, Texas Pete’s or other favorite hot sauce
4 cloves garlic
1/2-inch fresh ginger, peeled and cubed
4 Tbsp butter, melted
1 tsp Kosher salt
lots of freshly ground pepper
palmful fresh mint, minced
palmful fresh basil, minced

Bring the wings to room temperature. This is important or the sauce will gum up on cold wings.

Whisk together the sauce ingredients.

Toss the wings with the sauce. If you have time, marinate for several hours or overnight in the refrigerator. If you do, you’ll have to brings the wings back to room temperature again, and give them a good stir.

Heat a grill to high. Grill wings, flipping several times for about 15 minutes, or until they are very well cooked through and browned up nicely. Serve with celery sticks and a good blue cheese dip.

Serves 4 as appetizer.

Gumbo'd Haddock

Louisiana's Mike Anderson's, move over.  Years of tasting your fish dishes has inspired the best of me! I'm striking out on my own here; a taste of Cajun in the Mid-Atlantic.
1 link Andouille sausage
1/2 red, green, yellow or orange pepper, diced
2 celery heart stalks, diced
1 leek, trimmed, cleaned and diced
1/4 tsp dried thyme leaves
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
3 cloves garlic, minced

1/3 cup flour
1/4 cup canola oil
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 lb langoustines or shrimp, cut into 1/2-inch

1 lb haddock

Preheat oven to 425F. In a large skillet, sauté the sausage, pepper, celery, leek, thyme and red pepper flakes for about 15 minutes. The veggies need to be well softened and beginning to caramelize. Add the garlic and continue cooking another 2-3 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.

Meanwhile make the roux by misting the flour and the oil in a small saucepan. Cook for about 8-10 minutes over medium heat, until the mixture is the color of a Manila folder. Whisk in the broth and bring to a boil to thicken the sauce. Add the langoustines (or shrimp) and heat through.

Place the haddock in a 9x13 casserole and top with the gumbo sauce. Bake the fish for 30 minutes, until bubbly. Finish for a few minutes under the broiler to brown up a bit, if desired. Serve with lemon.

Serves 4.

Rigatoni Chicken Andouille Roasted Peppers and Tomatoes

Especially good with whatever you have fresh from your neighborhood or CSA garden!
1/2 lb short rigatoni pasta
1 6-inch link smoked Andouille sausage, sliced
1 onion, diced
6-8 fresh sage leaves
1 Tbsp fresh oregano
2 cloves garlic, minced

5-6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, sliced
1 pint grape tomatoes, rinsed and dried
1 jar roasted red peppers, drained and sliced
2-3 Tbsp grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Salt generously and tip in the pasta. Stir and cook just until al dente.

Meanwhile, sauté the sausage and onion in a bit of olive oil in a non-stick skillet.  Cook about 10 minutes, until the onion softens and browns up a bit. Add the sage, oregano and garlic,

and cook 2-3 more minutes. Set aside.

In same non-stick skillet, brown the chicken in a bit of olive oil.

Meanwhile, in another skillet, sauté the tomatoes and peppers in a bit of olive oil, until the tomatoes blister a bit, but do not disintegrate, about 5 minutes.

When the pasta is cooked, drain it and toss with the chicken, andouille mixture and the tomatoes and peppers. Sprinkle with the cheese.


Serves 4.

Summer Squash and Andouille Jambalaya

Summer squash coming outta your ears?!  Breathe.  Be grateful, be Zen - and make jambalaya!

Here's a version of the racy rice classic that puts your summer squash at center stage.  And uses it up!  Reduce your summer squash backlog, your meat; and your carbs; all at once.  This is your dish.
3/4 cup white rice
1-1/2 cups water
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp Bayou seasoning (or chili powder)

2 yellow summer squash, cut in half lengthwise and then sliced
3 links smoked Andouille sausage, about 8 oz, sliced
1 onion, finely diced
2 stalks celery, finely diced
1 small green pepper, finely diced
1 jalapeño pepper, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups arugula, chopped

Tip rice into a medium pot with a tablespoon of canola oil. Toast the rice over medium-high heat for about 3-5 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the water, salt, and seasonings. Bring a gentle boil, stir, and reduce to a low simmer. Cover and cook about 15-20 minutes, until all the water is absorbed.

Meanwhile, sauté the Andouille slices in a bit of oil in a large skillet, until browned on both sides. Remove to a bowl. Add the trinity of onion, celery and peppers to the skillet and sauté another 10-12 minutes, until softened and beginning to caramelize. Add the squash and raise the heat a bit to brown up the squash. Cook until the squash browns on both sides.

Add the arugula to the squash and allow it to cook down and incorporate into the veggie mix. Return the Andouille sausage to the veggies and filed in.

Uncover the rice and gently fluff. Tip the rice into the squash and Andouille mixture and fold together. Gently simmer to allow flavors to meld. This may best be done in a non-stick skillet - otherwise watch for the rice sticking to the skillet. When everything is melded and fragrant, turn into serving bowls and garnish with fresh arugula leaves.

Serves 4.

Fresh Maine Peach Gallette Anci

The Galette in France has many forms, from a cookie to a pie to a pancake.  Galettes constructed as a free form pie, sport a crust simply folded over the edges to form its shape.

The crust here is adapted from Melissa Clark of the NYT.  With an egg and some cream, it was flaky and crispy - fantastic for wrapping our cousin's fresh peaches from Maine.
1 egg brought to 1/3 cup with light cream

Crust:
1-1/3 cup flour
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick butter, cubed and chilled in the freezer

3 cups peeled, pitted and sliced peaches
1/3 cup sugar
4 Tbsp corn starch
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup raspberries (or blueberries, or blackberries)

remaining sugar: about 1 Tbsp

Whisk the egg and cream together. It should make 1/3 cup.

Pulse together the flour sugar and salt in a food processor. Add the butter and pulse a few times to get grains the size of chick peas. Add about half the egg and cream mixture, pulsing just enough to pull the dough slightly together. The trick is to keep it on the dry side, but yet still stick together. Try pinching some dough together if you are uncertain - if it stays together, you are probably done. Normally I have about 1-2 Tbsp left over - and you’ll need those, so save them.

Gather the crust together and form a disk of about 4-inches in diameter. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour.

Meanwhile, toss the peaches together with the sugar, corn starch and salt.

Allow to sit at least 30 minutes. If the peaches are very liquidy, strain them. They should be very moist but not flooded by their juices - not swimming in them. If they are too wet, they will overwhelm the Galette. Save the excess juices for your next smoothie! Preheat the oven to 400F.

Roll out the crust to a disk about 14-16” in diameter. Place the peaches in the center.

Pull back an extra 2-inches of dough back, repetitively, about 6-8 times to wrap the filling at the edges.

Transfer to a baking sheet.  Scatter the raspberries about the open space of the fruit. Brush the edges of the crust with the remaining egg/cream mix. Sprinkle the crust with the remaining sugar as desired.

Bake about 35-45 minutes, until the filling bubbles and thickens, and the crust is well browned.  Cool off a bit, slice and serve.

Anci's Fresh Maine Peaches

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

This pizza was definitely NOT invented in Italy :-))
12 oz cooked chicken breast
1/4 cup Tabasco, Texas Pete’s or other favorite hot sauce
2 Tbsp butter, melted

1 prepared pizza crust
1/2 cup salsa verde
1 dozen grape tomatoes, quartered lengthwise
2 cups arugula, or baby spinach
palmful fresh basil leaves
1/2 lb mozzarella cheese
2-3 oz blue cheese

Preheat oven to 450F. If your chicken breast is not cooked, just poach it in a few cups water for about 10 minutes, until cooked through. Cube the chicken into bite-sized pieces and mix with the hot sauce and butter in a bowl.

Roll out the pizza crust and lay on baking sheet. Spread the salsa verde about the crust. Top with the chicken, and the remaining ingredients, spreading evenly about the crust. Bake for about 10 minutes, until the pizza is browned and bubbly. Slice and serve.

Makes one large 14-inch pizza. Serves how ever many you think this serves!

Quinoa Lentil Burgers

Simon Fairlie estimates that substituting a meatless meal for red meat once a week, could have the equivalent carbon-footprint reduction as buying all your food locally for a year.  Even with his cautions of complexity and difficulties surrounding these calculations, his point is a strong one.  As much as a slight shift to vegetarian meals can have a BIG impact, not only on your health, but on the planet.

So listen to Paul McCartney's call for Meatless Monday - or choose your day, and eat well that day!  Try these satisfying burgers teaming with protein from the combination of quinoa (already VERY high in protein) and red lentils.  These'll stick to your ribs.

1 cup white quinoa
1/4 cup red quinoa
2-1/2 cup vegetable broth

kernels from 1 ear corn, about 1/2 cup
1 small onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
6 fresh sage leaves, sliced
2 cups baby kale
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup split red lentils

Well in advance:
Soak the lentils in a large excess of cold water for at least 2 hours. Drain and refrigerate until ready to use.

Toast the quinoa in a medium pot with a bit of canola oil, until you hear a few crackles and pops - about 5 minutes. Stir constantly. Add the vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Stir, reduce heat to a low simmer and cover. Cook for 30 minutes, until all the water has been absorbed. When the quinoa is cooked, fluff gently with a fork and turn out to a jelly roll pan to cool and dry.

Meanwhile, sauté the onion and corn in a large skillet with a bit of olive oil. Add the sage and garlic and cook another 2-3 minutes. Tip into a large mixing bowl.

Add a bit more olive oil to the skillet and add the kale. Cook for about 5-8 minutes, until the kale has softened and lost any water it wants to release. Tip kale into mixing bowl with the corn.

Add the quinoa, eggs, breadcrumbs and lentils to the mixing bowl and mix together well. You should be able to form about 8 patties. If the mixture is too wet, add a few more Panko crumbs. Refrigerating the mixture for 20-30 minutes can also help form patties that hold together well.

Heat a thin layer of olive oil in a large non-stick skillet. Brown the patties in the oil for about 3-5 minutes per side, until each side is nicely browned and crisped. Serve on buns or a salad, or any other favorite way of eating a burger!

Makes 8-10 burgers.

Cook's Note:  Simon Fairlie writes a very sage analysis of vegan, vegetarian and omnivore diets, and their impact on the land and the planet.  His objective analysis proposes a thesis that meat, if raised properly can provide a healthy balance for feeding the planet.  But he proposes many changes to our food production processes, that will take a lot of convincing of big business.  A definite 'must read' for anyone serially considering the pros and cons of a vegan diet, and a good, though dense companion to Michael Pollen's "An Omnivore's Dilemma".

Chilled Tomato and Corn Bisque

Chill out with a cool bisque while the summer's still hot!
2 large fresh, ripe tomatoes, cubed
3 ears white corn, kernels removed
1 clove garlic
1 cup plain Greek Yogurt
1 tsp Kosher salt
1/4 cup sherry

Blend all ingredients together in a blender until very, very well blended. Pour into four bowls and garnish with fresh mint.

Serves 4.