The One About...wait for it...Cooking!

 I began this blog when I retired, as I had intentions to Cook the NY Times recipes as written, then share same with you, dear readers.

Needless to say I've veered off the beaten path if not gone over the cliff with other topics, seldom writing anything about cooking.

At least for today, that changes.  I do want to thank the NYTimes Cooking section as it has pushed me outside my cooking comfort zone.  A definite kitchen changer for me is the book Salt, Fat, Heat, Acid  by Samin Nosrat.  There's a terrific Netflix show by the same name.

We are smack dab in the midst of Farmer's Market season.  I hope you are aware of where the closest Farmer's Market is to you and that you frequent it as often as possible until the outdoors ones close.  Around here, that's sometime in October and by then, many of the veggies showing up in abundance right now will be a distant albeit delicious memory.

You're probably aware that food found at the Farmer's Markets are locally grown and sourced.  Smaller farms make their living at these markets.  Fruits and vegetables are usually hand picked.  Often these are family owned farms--all you have to do is look at the people manning the tables to understand who grew the food you will be eating.  In the Twin Cities area, a substantial number of farms bringing their wares to Farmer's Markets are members of the Hmong community.  Shopping at the Farmer's Market may require an additional stop for you and I believe it is well worth your time.  In these COVID days, Farmer's Markets are usually outside, minimizing the risk (as I understand it) of catching the virus.  It's a terrific way of going outdoors.

If you're unsure where your closest Farmer's Market it, just use The Google.  You can also check in on the Nextdoor website (if you use that).

Okay, as Mickey would say, On With the Show.  For the purpose of this blog, we're going to concentrate on what's going on in my own personal Farmer's Market, my backyard garden.

Shall we begin with herbs?  Let's.  Here is a chart showing various foods and herbs which can be used to enhance flavor.

I grow the Scarborough Fair herbs--parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme--along with basil. I recommend becoming familiar with the taste of fresh herbs before you use them.  Their aromas are pungent unlike the dried, bottled herbs you have on your spice rack, and the taste has more of a kick than the dried herbs do as well.  Like with anything in food, your personal preference will tell you which of the herbs you like and how much of them.  It is amazing what a delicious difference these make in just about any dish.  

How about an easy recipe for a fish marinade using herbs:

Chop your herbs of choice (I'd recommend at least parsley and thyme.  I also like rosemary but not sage or basil, but then again, you might say, why not all of them?) into small pieces and put into a small bowl.  Add 1-2 T of olive oil and the juice of one fresh lemon.  Add salt and pepper, mix together.  Put the fish into a zip lock bag, pour the marinade over it.  Squish the bag so the fish is covered with the marinade, then refrigerate for at least an hour.  I don't add any other seasoning (blackening, red pepper flakes, etc.) to this marinade because my intention is to get the best taste out of the fish itself, not cover it up.

I like this rub for pork or chicken:

Chop sage, parsley, thyme, rosemary into small pieces and put into a bowl.  Add salt and pepper--for these meats, if you care to use seasoned salt, have at it.  Mix well, then coat the meat with the rub and let sit for about 15 minutes or more so the rub sinks into the meat.  With pork loins, I make slits in the pork and insert cloves of garlic into the meat.  Grilling works best in my opinion however the oven is okay, too.

A marinade for Tuscan steak:  chop basil, rosemary, parsley and put in a shallow baking dish.  Add salt, pepper and 1-2 T olive oil, 1-2 tsp balsamic vinegar.  Mix together well.  Add steak and marinate for at least an hour, turning once.

For me, the herbs are the make it of sauteing zucchini.  Frankly I find zucchini fairly flavorless on its own.  That mix restaurants seem so fond of passing off as vegetables: frozen, reconstituted cauliflower, zucchini and carrots is a why bother as far as I'm concerned.  But adding herbs really pops the flavor of this veggie.  Cut the zucchini into slices.  Chop one onion however you care to chop it.  I'm a fan of bigger pieces as opposed to mincing or finely chopping (probably because doing the latter takes more time than the former).  Saute the onion first--use olive oil, butter or a combination of the two.  Add the zucchini.  Thyme is my favorite herb here and I use it liberally.  Parsley, rosemary, yes.  Sage, no.  Basil, maybe.  Good portions of salt and pepper.  Allow the zucchini to get soft-ish (on the al dente side; be careful not to turn it into mush.)

Go two steps further--add sliced eggplant to the zucchini, stir in fresh chopped tomatoes at the end.  Ratatouille.

To my taste buds, my friend basil has a bit of a distinctive taste that I don't think always blends well with the Scarborough Fair spices, which is why I personally don't use it with them.  I use basil a lot with anything tomato based, i.e. soups and sauces.  And yes, pesto.  I do add parsley to my pesto, usually because I have a lot more parsley than basil.  Obvi I need to expand my use of basil, so if anyone has suggestions, please share in the comments.

Just found this recipe and it looks so delicious, I'm going to share it with you.  I'm holding off making it until a few more of my yukon gold potatoes are ready.  (For mature potatoes, wait 2 to 3 weeks after the plant's foliage has died back. The tops of the plants need to have completely died before you begin harvesting. Cut browning foliage to the ground and wait 10 to 14 days before harvesting to allow the potatoes to develop a thick enough skin.)  Previously I learned to make sure to recover the potatoes with dirt if they begin pushing through the ground, as the sunlight will turn them green and green potatoes are not good for you (Although the green color itself is not harmful, it may indicate the presence of a toxin called solanine. Peeling green potatoes can help reduce solanine levels, but once a potato has turned green, it's best to throw it away). 

Rosemary Gruyere Potato Gratin

5 lbs. Yukon Gold potatoes, scrubbed, pealed and sliced 1/4" thick                              6 T butter                                                                                                                                              2 T flour                                                                                                                                                 1 T kosher salt, plus extra for boiling potatoes                                                                         3 c heavy cream                                                                                                                                12 ozs shredded Guyere cheese                                                                                                      3 T finely minced fresh rosemary, divided

Place potato slices in a large pot, cover with cold, salted water (2 qts water, 1 tsp salt).  On stovetop heated to high, boil potatoes until tender, about 10 min.  Drain and allow to cool.  Then arrange potatoes in layers on the bottom of a 2 qt baking dish and set aside. Preheat oven to 350.   In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.  Stir in flour and salt; cook butter mixture, stirring constantly, until bubbly.  Stir in cream; bring to a boil, stirring constantly.  Continue boiling and stirring for 1 min.  Remove from heat, then stir in cheese and 2 T rosemary.  Stir until cheese is melted.  Pour cheese sauce over potatoes.  Bake, uncovered, until bubbly and golden brown on top, about 30-35 minutes.  Sprinkle remaining rosemary evenly over top.  Let stand, covered, for 10 minutes before serving.

Would I add a few more herbs into this recipe?  Maybe.  I might try it as written first and then decide what might add to the deliciousness, because any recipe calling for 3 c of heavy cream is delicious, n'est-ce pas?

Moving on to the veggies:

Already made mention of zucchini, eggplant and tomatoes, which I grow.  Have you ever tried zucchini boats?  My take on them:  cut into the zucchini enough to maintain the 'boat' and scoop out and save the zucchini flesh.  Preheat the oven to 325.  Choose a ground meat: turkey, sausage, beef, pork, chicken.  Start with browning some chopped onion, then add the ground meat.  When about 3/4 finished, add the scooped out zucchini so it cooks down a bit.  Herbs?  But of course!  Salt and pepper, natch.  A couple fresh tomatoes at the end, cooked to soften them?  Yes.  You can add some cooked rice or small pasta of your choosing to this mixture, which you will return to the zucchini boats.  Mix together a melty cheese of your choice (cheddar, parmesan, mozzarella, etc.) with about 1/2 c of breadcrumbs which holds it all together rather nicely.  Put the boats into a shallow baking dish.  (On general principles, I always spray mine with Pam.)  Spoon the cheese/breadcrumb mixture atop the boats, then bake for about 25-30 minutes.

Zucchini or eggplant parmesan chips?  Easy, peasy.  Preheat the oven to 400.  Cut the chosen veggie into chip sized pieces, not too thin.  Mix together breadcrumbs, your herbs of choice, salt and pepper (note: we are fond of the kosher salt and peppercorn grinders), and shredded parmesan.  Beat an egg in a bowl; add the veggies; transfer to the breadcrumb mixture and coat on both sides.  Definitely spray a baking sheet with Pam for this one.  Lay out the slices on the baking sheet and put in the oven for 5-8 minutes, then turn.  They're ready when they're browned but not burned to a crisp.

Green beans taste like an entirely different vegetable when they are fresh picked.  Kids might even be enticed to snack on them raw!  I like to wrap green beans in a tin foil packet for the grill.  I season them with salt, pepper and either balsamic or soy sauce, sometimes both. You could also try sesame oil or chili oil.  They're excellent stir fried with the same sauces or oils, a shake of sesame seeds at the end.  I should add when I stir fry, I always begin with a copious amount of garlic in the wok.  For the beans you could add grated ginger or ginger slices.  And there is nothing like steamed green beans--just enough to brighten the color and keep them crisp.  Always avoid overcooking your veggies!

The same thing goes for freshly harvested potatoes--out of this world flavor.  Mash them, boil them, put 'em in a stew...deliciousness.  The Spousal Unit™ has developed an expertise for making twice baked potatoes.  Microwave the potatoes that you have pierced with a fork (if you haven't microwaved a potato in a while, they're really not bad compared to what I remember them tasting like in the advent of the microwave age).  Let them sit for a couple minutes because they will be very hot.  Cut a top off the potatoes so that you can scoop out the insides which go into a bowl.  Add salt and pepper, yes, you could add herbs here (and I would go with finely chopped parsley, rosemary, thyme), butter and sour cream to taste.  If you're using freshly harvested potatoes, allow me to suggest going lightly on the butter and sour cream because you want to let the flavor of the potatoes shine.  You can always add more if you find the flavor lacking.  Put the potatoes on a microwaveable plate; return to the microwave for 1 1/2-2 minutes.  The Spousal Unit™ adds a pat of butter and a shake or two of paprika.  You can drown it in shredded cheese and bacon if you care to, but at least try it without doing so.  My daughter Molly bakes potatoes on the top shelf of our grill.  She coats them in olive oil so the skins get a little crispy.  Yummy!

Carrots come late in the growing season.  When was the last time you ate a cooked carrot?  I thought so.  Steam them and try them, just like that.  So sweet and delicious!

The impending squash harvest opens us wide up to soup season.  This year I have both butternut and acorn squashes coming.  There are, of course, multiple squash soup recipes on The Google and I'll defer to them, with the admonition--if you can still find fresh herbs, add them.  Sage is particularly good here.  Squash soups freeze extremely well and are satisfying cold weather dinners with a nice crusty bread to which you can add--what is that?--some herbed butter. Squash is another thing that microwaves well--again, check out The Google.  If you have Farmer's Market fresh squash, it need little in the way of accoutrements, i.e. brown sugar, butter, maple syrup.  

Finally, I usually can tomatoes although I seldom have enough left on the vines to can because during the harvest season, I add tomatoes to just about everything I cook--honestly.  I've posted this recipe before and it remains one of my favorites.  Bruised or partly bruised tomatoes do well in this recipe for Tomato Soup with basil and farro.

So there we go!  A Cooking the NY Times blog post about cooking!  Add any recipes you want to share and I'll compile them and blog them back at ya!