Simple herbed labneh: Middle Eastern yogurt cheese

If you like to use yogurt for all kinds of different sweet and savory uses -- curries, marinades, soup garnishes, and smoothies are my usual suspects -- you likely have a big tub of plain, unadulterated yogurt in your refrigerator. Well, now you can add one more use to that list: labneh.

Labneh is a very simple concoction: yogurt drained well and transformed into a spreadable cheese. It's very similar to Greek yogurt, depending on how long you let it drain. While labneh is occasionally stocked in Middle Eastern specialty markets, it's frequently easier -- as well as more versatile -- to just buy ordinary yogurt and make it yourself. If you happen to make your own yogurt to begin with, that's even better.

Labneh adds a delightful tang and a thick, creamy texture to any number of dishes while simultaneously removing the need for a separate container of Greek yogurt. What's not to love?

What can you do with labneh? I tend to go very simple and eat it spread on bread or crackers, but you can apply it nearly anywhere you'd normally use either Greek yogurt or sour cream. Mix labneh with mashed avocado to make a super-rich and delicious dip. Spread some in a burrito along with a generous helping of salsa. Garnish a bowl of spicy dal. Use it to make tzatziki and eat it with juicy meatballs or lentil kibbeh. Serve it with a platter of hummus and vegetables, add a drizzle of olive oil and some pita bread, and go to town.

The main piece of equipment you'll need to make labneh is a fine strainer. I use a very fine-mesh nylon strainer set over a measuring cup to make my labneh. You can also use a slightly more open-mesh strainer lined with a double layer of cheesecloth or a coffee filter. Aim for something that will allow liquids, but not solids, to escape.

Basic labneh

full-fat plain yogurt
a fine-mesh strainer
a bowl or cup to set your strainer over

Set your strainer over your draining vessel, making sure that there's a good inch or two of space between their two bottoms. Fill the strainer with yogurt.

Leave your yogurt in the refrigerator overnight, or for at least 12 hours. 24 hours is an ideal draining time. As the yogurt drains, it will reduce in volume by approximately 1/3 to 1/2.

Remove your finished labneh to a container of your choice. Store in the refrigerator until needed. Use your accumulated whey to make bread.

Herbed labneh

1 cup finished labneh
green herbs of your choice
1 clove garlic
salt and pepper

Mix your finished labneh with as much chopped herbs as you like. I used dill and parsley for this rendition; pretty much any green herb you like should work well. Smash and finely mince a clove of garlic and add it to the mix. Season with a bit of salt and pepper and stir together.

If you like, you can make your labneh into balls. Pick up spoonfuls of labneh, drop them into a bowl of chopped herbs, and gently roll to coat in the herbs. I tend not to bother with this, because I'm just going to spread my finished labneh anyway.

Leave your herbed labneh in the refrigerator for at least a couple hours before serving, to give the flavors a chance to develop.

I ate my labneh on toast with a handful of pickled peppers, and threw some dilly beans on the side for extra pickle action.

Have you ever strained yogurt at home? What's your favorite way to use it?

Scrambled duck eggs with green beans, red pepper, and fresh herbs

We bought an egg share with our CSA. This means that along with our weekly vegetables, we also get half a dozen mixed brown, blue, and spotted eggs. They're excellent -- obviously super-fresh, with bright orange yolks and full whites. A fried CSA egg is a thing of beauty, especially split over a piece of sourdough toast. But six eggs is just about as many as we can eat in a week, considering our overall low levels of breakfast-eating and baking. And then the CSA decided to give everyone a sample of half a dozen duck eggs.

Suddenly we had double the eggs, and the duck eggs were nearly double the size of the chicken eggs, so it was more like we had sixteen eggs than twelve. It was definitely time for a couple of hearty weekend scrambles. And why not get the full use out of the CSA by adding plenty of herbs and vegetables?

For our herbs, we used curly parsley and dill, both of which are excellent with egg. I think dill is seriously underused in general, and particularly when it comes to eggs. It's great raw in egg salad, and it's also great cooked into a scramble like this. I imagine that it's similar to the classic tarragon-and-egg combination. Try it!

Scrambled duck eggs with green beans, red pepper, and fresh herbs
serves 2

butter
2 scallions
large handful green beans (or zucchini, broccoli, etc)
1/2 red bell pepper
2-3 duck eggs (or sub 5-6 chicken eggs)
~3 tbsp each fresh dill and parsley (or basil, tarragon, chives, etc)
salt, pepper

Chop your scallion whites, setting the greens aside. Saute in butter in an appropriate egg pan over medium heat.

Wash, trim, and cut your green beans into bite-sized pieces. When your scallions have begun to soften, add the beans to the pan, along with a punch of salt. Continue to cook for another 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally, while you dice your bell pepper. When the beans are mostly tender, add your peppers and cook for another 2-3 minutes to soften.

Crack your eggs into a bowl. Finely chop your scallion greens, parsley, and dill; add them to the eggs. Season with salt and plenty of pepper. Beat with a fork until frothy and well mixed.

When all of your vegetables are tender, add your egg mixture to the hot pan. Cook, stirring frequently, until your eggs are done to your liking.

Serve your finished eggs with a little more pepper or a few fronds of herbs scattered on top. A simple green salad is definitely welcome alongside. And if it happens to be dinnertime, or Sunday brunch, a glass of dry white wine would not go amiss.

Have you ever cooked with duck eggs?

First garden green beans of the year

I planted a truly massive amount of green bush beans this year. We had the garden space, and can basically never get enough beans, so why not? Besides, after the moles killed multiple jalapeño plants and a tomato plant, I figured that more plants equaled a better chance of actually getting a crop.

Now the beans are the most successful plants in the garden, with no attrition by mole at all. I'm picking huge double handfuls every other day, so as to keep up a steady supply for the whole growing season. Later I'll let one or two plants go, so the beans mature in their pods and can be used for seed next year. Hooray!

For my first foray into homegrown green bean cooking, I went super simple. What better way is there to eat beans than sauteed with butter and garlic?

Green beans with butter and garlic
Serves one. Multiply as needed.

1-2 big handfuls green beans
1-2 cloves garlic
1 pat butter/slug olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Wash your green beans, trim them, and cut them into bite-sized pieces. Crush and mince your garlic.

Melt your butter or oil in a frying pan over medium to medium-high heat. Add your garlic and cook for about a minute before adding your beans. Season with several good pinches of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes. If you like, you can add a splash of water to the pan and let the beans cook in the steam.

When the beans are done to your taste, season with pepper. Taste and add more salt as necessary. Eat immediately.

Of course, beans can also get a little fancier. This is especially the case if you also need to get through a CSA box of vegetables every week. In this case, I more or less just added some delightful extras to the basic green bean and garlic recipe. It's still super easy and still delicious.

Green beans with zucchini and dill
Serves one. Multiply as needed.

1 big handful green beans
2 cloves garlic
1 small or 1/2 large zucchini
1 pat butter/slug olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
2-3 tbsp chopped fresh dill (or basil, tarragon, parsley, etc)
wedge of lemon

Wash your green beans, trim them, and cut them into bite-sized pieces. Crush and mince your garlic. Chop your zucchini into thin rounds or half-moons.

Melt your butter or oil in a frying pan over medium to medium-high heat. Add your garlic and cook for about a minute before adding your beans. Season with several good pinches of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 3 minutes. Add water to steam your beans if you like.

Add the zucchini and continue cooking for another 2-3 minutes, or until all the vegetables are done to your taste. Season with pepper and correct salt.

Serve topped with plenty of fresh dill and a squeeze of lemon juice. If you're having your beans alongside a seared piece of fish, put any extra dill and lemon on the fish.

Beans! They are the best.

Who's gardening this year? What are you harvesting now?

Radish and dill compound butter

Radishes, butter, and salt are one of the most classic food combinations out there.

Usually I've seen instructions to swipe whole radishes through cold butter and dip them into sea salt. This is all well and good if you want a huge mouthful of radish, but it can get a little spicy for me. So instead I thought I'd make a quick compound butter and spread the resulting tasty mess on slices of sourdough baguette. Then I added some fresh dill, because we had a big bunch and it's delicious with crispy radish. Perfect!

This is one of those recipes you can adjust to suit your tastes. Do you like lots of crunch and spice? Add more radish. Do you want all the dill? Add more dill. You're going to be spreading this on bread anyway -- a fairly neutral palette -- so I recommend going for large amounts and strong flavors.

If you want to chill your butter before using -- maybe so you can let a slice of it melt on top of a piece of poached salmon later -- you can shape it into a cylinder by wrapping it in plastic wrap, rolling it to an even thickness with the palm of your hand, and twisting the plastic together at each end. Then just stick the packet in your refrigerator for future application.

And if you want to make this into a schmear instead of a compound butter, you can switch out the butter for cream cheese. This is definitely on my short list of things to make before the dill is all gone.

Radish and dill compound butter

2-3 radishes (3 tbsp grated)
1 1/2 tbsp fresh dill
4 tbsp softened butter
salt and pepper to taste

Shred your radishes on a box grater or microplane. Finely chop your dill.

Mix the shredded radish, dill, and butter together thoroughly. Season with salt and pepper, taste, and adjust.

Spread on the bread of your choice and eat. Otherwise, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for future use.

John and I may have polished off our entire batch, as well as an entire baguette, and called it lunch. Cold rosé is optional.

What are you spreading on bread lately?

Scrambled eggs with tarragon, parsley, potato, and onion

Wait, it's the holiday weekend? It's practically summer! What happened?

A lot of things happened. My ankle is still sprained, which means I've been hobbling around instead of standing up in the kitchen. I've been taking programming and computer history classes, which require a lot of brain and leave me wanting to sit around reading trashy novels in my spare time. And we're semi-suddenly going to London at the end of this week, due to someone having a required work trip. This gives us an excellent opportunity to kill two birds with one stone and take some vacation time. I intend to drink lots of coffee, eat British Indian food, and go to all the museums.

SO. That's my life right now. Anyway. Let's talk about food.

The other day I had some leftover potatoes and onions to use up, along with a bunch of fresh tarragon, so I made these delightful eggs.

Nigel Slater says that eggs and tarragon work well together, and I am happy to report that this is indeed the case. I'm especially happy because I don't really know what else to do with a package of tarragon. I think some further experimentation may be in order. But in the meantime, eggs work.

Scrambled eggs with tarragon, parsley, potato, and onion

butter
1/2 small onion
1 small cooked potato
2 eggs
leaves of 2 sprigs fresh tarragon
leaves of 2-3 sprigs fresh parsley
salt & pepper
toast to serve

Melt a pat of butter in an appropriate egg pan. Dice your onion, add it to the pan, and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until it starts to soften. (If you're using leftover cooked onion, you can just heat it up with the potato.)

Dice your potato and add that to the pan. Stir and continue to cook for another 2-3 minutes, or until hot through.

Crack your eggs into a small bowl. Chop your herbs and add them to the eggs, along with a good sprinkling of salt and pepper. Mix well with a fork.

If you want toast, now is the time to put it on.

Turn the heat down under your pan and add your egg mixture. Cook, stirring frequently with a spatula, until scrambled to your liking. I like to scramble on low heat; the residual heat in the pan will still keep things going fairly quickly.

Serve your finished eggs with nicely buttered toast. Have some coffee. Yay!

What do you make with tarragon? Seriously, I need some suggestions.

Also, did I mention that our first CSA box of the season is coming right before we fly across the world? There may be some hasty cooking and freezing happening.

Simple ravioli soup with handfuls of herbs

Because you can't just make one thing with a big bunch of dill.

And since egg salad is not exactly the optimal thing to eat in winter (not to say that stopped us), I went on the lookout for more ways to use up my bountiful dill. The answer? Well, besides some very dilly schmears and a few simple salads, a soup seemed like a really good idea.

This soup takes very little time to make and produces a seriously warming and delicious meal. It's an excellent reason to keep ravioli (or any fresh filled pasta you like) in the freezer.

I happened to have a ravioli filled with havarti and dill on hand, so fresh dill was a perfect addition. However, it would be hard to go wrong using any filled pasta you like. Ravioli or tortellini with ricotta, spinach, chicken, beef, or even a delicate shrimp could all be delicious. So could pierogi or pelmeny filled with hearty potato, cottage cheese, or cabbage.

All you'd need to do is adjust the type of herb and the broth for optimal flavor combinations. Shrimp ravioli? Use chives and tarragon, plus fish stock. Beef? Use parsley and beef stock, with a splash of tomato juice for good measure. Tomato would be a great addition for nearly any pierogi as well -- and I'd wilt in some shredded cabbage right before turning off the heat. And a little dry vermouth or white wine would be an excellent addition to nearly any of these.

Simple ravioli soup with handfuls of herbs
Serves 2.

olive oil/butter
3-4 scallions
1-2 carrots
3+ cups vegetable or chicken broth
2 servings frozen ravioli or other filled pasta of your choice
salt, pepper
plenty of dill, parsley, or another fresh leafy herb

Start by heating your oil or butter in a 3-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Trim and chop a handful of scallions, separating the whites from the greens. Add the whites to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, for a few minutes. Set the greens aside.

Scrub or peel one big carrot or a couple of smaller ones. Slice into the bite-sized pieces of your choice. I made thin quarter-moons. Add your carrots to the pan, season with a little salt, and cook for another few minutes to soften. If you want to add any more chopped vegetables, like celery or mushrooms, now is the time to do so.

Add a good three cups of broth to your pan. You can make up the difference with water if you don't have quite enough broth. Season with salt and pepper and bring the pan to a boil.

Add your ravioli, stir, and bring the pan to a boil again. Reduce the heat to simmer; a full rolling boil will tend to split your ravioli.

Simmer for five to eight minutes, or until your ravioli are completely cooked through. They will float to the surface of the pan when they're ready. Your timing will depend on the size of your pasta.

While you're waiting, chop up a large handful or two of the herbs of your choice. I used dill, because we had lots of it and my ravioli were filled with havarti and dill anyway, but parsley, chervil, chives, tarragon, or a mix of whatever leafy green herbs you like can all work well. Think about your ravioli filling and decide accordingly.

When your ravioli are done, correct the seasonings and turn off the heat. Stir your chopped herbs and green onion greens into your finished soup. Serve with a few extra sprigs of herbs for garnish.

Eat and feel better.

Which hot and hearty soups are you cooking this winter?

How to dry fresh herbs

Because you can't just pickle an abundance of fresh dill, but you can dry it out, crumble it up, and use it to pickle other things!

Drying herbs at home is actually really, really easy. All you need is a place to let your herbs dry undisturbed and a little patience.

If you have lots of fresh herbs -- whether you grow them yourself, get them spontaneously through a CSA, or have good access to cheap farmer's market deals or foraging -- you should absolutely dry your excess so you can use them all winter long. It takes very little work, produces MUCH higher quality dried herbs than you can buy at the supermarket, and takes advantage of the super-cheap summer harvest. Give it a try!

I like to dry my herbs in the laundry room, because that's how I roll. Actually, a lot of blog stuff gets done in the laundry room. It has good light via multiple windows, which means the top of the dryer is very frequently where I set up my photo shoots. Yes! Secrets of foodblogging revealed!

ANYWAY.

So. Drying herbs.

Generally, you want to spread herbs out to dry, so they get good air circulation. You want them to be out of direct sunlight, so the sun doesn't bleach them and their oils don't evaporate. And you want to put them somewhere where they'll be undisturbed for at least a week. You have a choice of several different methods by means of which to do this.

First, the plate method.

This is the simplest possible way to dry herbs. Just spread your clean herbs on a plate and leave them alone for about a week, or until they are entirely crispy and crumble easily between your fingers. No elaborate drying screens necessary!

This method works really well as long as you can ensure your herbs remain undisturbed. If you have an inquisitive cat, for instance, this might not be the best choice for you. But if you can put them in a room (a laundry room, perhaps?) with a door you can keep shut, you're probably good to go.

Second, the hanging method.

Here, you'll separate your clean herbs into a series of small bunches and hang them somewhere to dry. Then just leave them alone for a good week, or until they're completely dry through.

I usually attach all my bunches of herbs to a wire hanger and hook it over a plant hook in the laundry room ceiling. (In case you were wondering, this is sufficiently above the windows to eliminate the direct sunlight issue.)

"Attach" can mean securing the bunch with a twist tie and then wrapping its ends around the hanger wire, or it can mean gently separating each bunch of herbs in half up to the tie and sliding that over the hanger, so the herbs fall to either side and the tie rests on top of the wire. Lots of other methods can work well too. Give it a try and see what's most practical for you.

When your herbs are dry (by either method), carefully pick the leaves from the stems, working over a cutting board or plate to catch all the fragments. For some herbs, this takes more effort than others. Greener and more delicate herbs are easier to process; dill, for instance, generally crumbles right off its stem. Woody herbs like sage and thyme can take a bit more care, since you don't want to end up chewing on an inedible stem later. But unless you're harvesting an entire field's worth of dried herbs, you probably won't have too much trouble.

Next, crush, grind, or chop your dried herb leaves to your preferred texture. I usually roughly chop mine with a chef's knife. A mortar and pestle or spice grinder can come in handy if you want a finer texture. Do what works for you.

Finally, funnel your finished dried herbs into jars and store them until needed.

Hooray! You just saved a bunch of herbs from melting into a puddle of swampy goo in the bottom of the crisper! And you'll also be able to keep your money instead of shelling out for yet another jar of dried basil in mid-January.

Are you drying any food this summer? I keep meaning to build a solar dehydrator, but it hasn't happened yet. Any other less usual methods of food preservation in the house?

And hello to all the excellent women I met this past weekend at BlogHer! So nice to meet all of you! I have a stack of business cards and a whole lot of new blogs to visit and twitter feeds to follow...as soon as I take a day or two to nap. :)

Homemade dill-dijon mayonnaise and the egg salad thereof

Homemade mayonnaise is supposedly difficult to make correctly. That's interesting, because this took under five minutes to make and had no issues whatever. Don't be scared--just give it a try!

The worst that can happen is that your mayo breaks. To fix a broken mayonnaise, all you have to do is get out another egg yolk and gradually whisk your broken mayo into it. No problem.

We wanted a super-flavorful mayo, so John (who was at the whisk) broke out the jar of dijon mustard, a bunch of fresh dill, and some chive blossom vinegar.

Let's go!

Mayonnaise with dill and dijon

1 egg yolk
splash of vinegar (chive blossom, white wine, or champagne)
spoonful dijon mustard
salt, pepper
1/2 cup grapeseed oil
chopped fresh dill (or other herbs of your choice)

Mix together egg yolk, vinegar, dijon, and salt and pepper to taste. Gradually whisk in the oil until your mayonnaise is completely emulsified. Fold in as much dill as you like. Taste and correct the seasonings, and you're done.

You can use this immediately or stick it in the refrigerator to use later. Fresh mayonnaise only keeps for about 3-5 days, so make plans to use it up quickly!

Now that you have some homemade mayo, what should you do with it? My vote is always and forever for egg salad.

Egg salad for two

5 hard-boiled eggs
3-4 radishes
a handful apiece of fresh dill and chives
3-4 tbsp homemade mayo
1 tbsp dijon mustard or more to taste
salt, pepper

Chop your eggs. I like to chop mine irregularly for a more interesting texture in the final product. Slice your radishes and cut across the slices to make little strips. Chop further if you want smaller bits. Wash and chop up a healthy whack of both chives and dill.

Deposit your eggs, radishes, herbs, mayo, and mustard into an appropriate bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Mix everything together, correct seasonings, and you're done. Hooray!

This recipe makes enough for four open-faced egg salad sandwich halves or two very full closed sandwiches, plus some leftovers to scoop onto radish slices. You could also serve spoonfuls in nice crisp lettuce leaves or endive boats. Hooray!

Now I really want to take a batch of these on a picnic, with a bagful of apples and a cold bottle of sauvignon blanc. So perfect for summer.

Have you ever made homemade mayonnaise? How did it go?

Couscous salad with chickpeas, golden beets, and zucchini

Who wants a quick and delicious lunch salad? You know you want one.

Raw beet has fast become my favorite way to cram as much crunchy, sweet vegetables as possible into a salad. To keep everything in my kitchen from turning fuchsia, I use golden beets. Red or chioggia beets also work well, but their juice will stain. At the very least, red beets will produce a bright pink salad. Be aware!

Of course, beets alone are not a particularly sufficient lunch. To give this salad some real heft, I opened a can of chickpeas. These little guys are the saviors of lunch salads everywhere. And why not bulk it up with the easiest non-grain ever, instant couscous? Perfect.

Not only is this salad tasty, easy, and cheap, it's very easily packable for work lunches or potlucks. The couscous absorbs the dressing, so there's very little risk of an olive oil spill. If I still worked in an office, I absolutely would have packed up a bunch of servings so I could grab one every day as I ran out the door.

I accidentally made enough salad to feed myself for a full week. Oops. On the other hand, now I have lunch just waiting in the fridge constantly. I call that a win.

Makes 6-8 servings.

Couscous salad with chickpeas, golden beets, and zucchini

Salad:
1 cup instant couscous
salt, pepper, olive oil
1 cup boiling water
1 medium-large golden beet
1 small zucchini
4 mushrooms
fresh parsley & chives
2 cups cooked chickpeas

Dressing:
lemon juice
dijon mustard
salt, pepper
olive oil

Make your couscous by putting it in a heat-safe bowl, seasoning it with a bit of salt, pepper, and olive oil, and pouring the water over it. Cover with a clean tea towel and let it sit while you prep the rest of your ingredients. It will be done in about five minutes.

The vegetables are super easy: just cut them up into the shapes of your choice. I scrubbed and grated a golden beet and finely chopped a zucchini and a handful of mushrooms. You can add all kinds of other vegetables if you like. Chop up a decent whack of flat-leaf parsley and a handful of chives while you're at it.

When your couscous is finished, fluff it with a fork. Add your vegetables, herbs, and chickpeas and stir together.

Make your dressing by combining the juice of half a lemon, a spoonful of dijon mustard, and a generous grinding of salt and pepper. Whip with a fork to emulsify as you drizzle in about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of olive oil. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Pour your dressing over the salad and mix thoroughly.

Check out that beautiful golden glow. I actually might have to rename this "golden glow salad," don't you think? So pretty. So tasty.

Which salads are keeping you happy as the weather heats up?

Spring garden 2014

You guys, it was over 90F out today: the hottest day so far this year. For now, it's a novelty, but let's get real. Summer is almost on us. We have about a month or so until the temperatures stop bobbing up and down and settle into a steady 80-85.

You've probably heard about (or experienced) the near-total lack of rain in California this spring. Shit is serious. The entire state is in drought for the first time in 15 years. Just look at this map from the US Drought Monitor. YIKES. Water rationing hasn't started yet; evidently rationing is more complicated than it appears.

Outside, you can see the effects of the drought really easily. The grass is crisp two months before it should be. The ground is hard. The lemon balm and mint, both of which are usually super rampant, only take up about 2/3 as much space as they did last year. You can sit on the ground with no threat of damp pants. So although the plants themselves look pretty good so far, I am feeling concerned about the garden.

Let's have a tour.

When you go out the side door of our house, this lemon tree nearly clocks you in the face. It's full of both mature lemons and new blossoms. The branches bow really dramatically under the weight of the fruit. When you pick a ripe lemon, they spring back and bounce up and down.

In the side bed, there is indeed a bunch of lemon balm and mint. The darker, smoother leaves are the mint. These guys normally make themselves seen in late January, with the first rains. This year they came up in March.

I know what to do with mint: dry it and make all kinds of iced mint tea. The lemon balm is a little harder. I did make a batch of fresh tea with some the other day, but I'm not sure whether I like it yet. It was surprisingly vegetal, almost like a spinach-lemon tea. I think I need to try it iced.

The chives are doing really well, although those blossoms are pretty early. They are usually a pretty early herb in general, though. I like to make chive vinegar out of the blossoms and throw the chives themselves in practically everything I make.

If you go around the back of the house, you run smack into a bank of pineapple guava blossoms.

There are a million of them. I may be exaggerating just little, but not much. The tree overhangs our entire backyard, and it is entirely full of flowers. The bees LOVE it. We have a bee-loud glade in our backyard right now, is what I'm saying. It's really nice not to have to worry about not attracting enough pollinators. There is no shortage.

You can eat pineapple guava blossoms, but we usually don't. They're soft and faintly tropical-fruity.

In the actual garden bed, the key players are the two tomato plants. They're both volunteer seedlings from the Caspian Pink tomato I planted last year. They may have gotten cross-pollinated with the other tomatoes, but I don't care. As long as there are a bunch of home-grown tomatoes, everything will be fine.

Of course, with tomatoes you have to worry about water. These guys are in partial shade--Caspian Pink is a partial shade tomato, which I got especially for that purpose--so the water will have a fighting chance not to evaporate instantly. I feel fairly hopeful there.

Otherwise, the bed is filled with a mishmash of delightful things. This guy is a red bell pepper. There's a jalapeno pepper plant which is looking partially eaten and may need a replacement, and a volunteer potato, also a bit eaten. I have a bunch of scattered scallions and garlic looking like random blades of grass. The peppers at least should be happy on water restriction. Otherwise, I can mulch.

Yeah. I like my garden. I would like to keep it alive. We'll see how it goes.

How are your gardens going this spring?

Rosemary lemon gin sour

The lemon tree next door has been dropping fruit into our driveway for several weeks now. What better way to use up both zest and juice than in a delightful cocktail?

My cocktail of choice is the sour. (See: the Fields of Gold, the Fitzgerald.) A basic sour recipe goes like this: combine 2 oz of the liquor of your choice with .75 oz of lemon juice and .75 oz of simple syrup. It's super easy to switch it up, either by trying different kinds of liquor or by flavoring your syrup. So I decided to make a gin sour and punch up my syrup with extra lemon and a branch of rosemary. The result was tangy, slightly sweet, and herbaceous: perfect.

My simple syrup recipe makes a very small batch, which I prefer because sugar syrups don't tend to last much longer than a week or so in the refrigerator. It's definitely easy to double or triple if you want to make a big batch of cocktails, though. The color is also really pretty--almost like a very light olive oil.

Keep in mind that your zest should be free of bitter pith. I read about removing extra pith from zest on a blog a few days ago, and I can't find it ANYWHERE now, but. Just use a spoon to scrape off any pith: totally easy and 100% effective. Why didn't I think of it before? Thank you, whoever mentioned this!

Rosemary lemon gin sour

2 oz gin
.75 oz rosemary lemon simple syrup (see below)
.75 ox lemon juice

Place all ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously for 2-3 minutes, or as long as you can stand it. Strain into an ice-filled cocktail glass of your choice, garnish with a strip of zest or rosemary sprig if you so desire, and drink.

Rosemary lemon simple syrup

1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1 large sprig rosemary
zest of 2-3 lemons

Combine your sugar and water in a small saucepan. Chop your rosemary roughly and add it to the pan. Zest your lemons, taking care to avoid the white pith. Scrape with a spoon to remove any large bits of pith before you add your zest to the pan.

Bring the pan to a gentle simmer over medium heat, swirling occasionally. When all the sugar has dissolved, lid the pan, turn off the heat, and let steep for 30 to 45 minutes.

Strain your finished syrup through a fine-mesh sieve and cool completely before using.

What's your drink of choice this month?

A totally normal lunch

Before we jump entirely into the holiday fray, let's talk about one more ordinary thing.

Nearly instant lunch? Yes.

Get yourself some crackers, crispbread, or actual bread of your choice. This is sourdough crispbread, which is delicious & optimal, but you can pretty much use any bread-type item you have lying around.

Spread your crispbread with cream cheese. Sprinkle with pickled peppers, or fresh chopped bell peppers if you prefer. (You totally want pickled peppers, however. I've been making these pickled peppers from Emmycooks for a good year, and I plan to continue for the foreseeable future. SO GOOD.) Do you want to add any other raw veg? Go for it.

Add chopped parsley. Grind some black pepper over the whole plate.

Hey, look! Lunch!

Have an apple or a couple of clementines and feel well satisfied.

Tomorrow (or whenever I next post): HOLIDAY ZOMGG

Fresh corn and basil schmear

Summer produce is everywhere. What better way to eat it than smashed into a whack of cream cheese and smeared on the toasty bagel of your choice? Welcome to another round of homemade schmears: summer edition.

This time I cut the kernels off an ear of fresh white corn, sliced a big handful of basil leaves, and threw them in a bowl with several thick slices of cream cheese and a little pepper. Voila!

I left my corn kernels uncooked because I like the freshness, flavor, and subtle crunch of raw sweet corn, but a quick saute with some finely diced shallot would be an excellent variation. Bonus: this method will also work well in the middle of winter, when all you have is a bag of frozen kernels. Throw in a spoonful of pesto and you're in business.

Obviously, you can choose to make these totally vegan with the cream cheese substitute of your choice. And isn't that better than having plain hummus yet again at the bagel shop?

Height of summer schmear
(aka: Fresh corn and basil schmear)

1 ear fresh corn
10-20 leaves fresh basil
half a brick of cream cheese
pepper to taste

This makes enough to cover two bagels.

Husk & de-silk your ear of corn and cut the kernels off the cob. I find that the easiest way to do this is to lay the ear down horizontally on a cutting board and just slice down along the side, then rotate & repeat. This way the corn mostly stays put instead of flying all over the kitchen, and you don't have to break out a giant bowl or anything.

Wash a big handful of basil leaves and slice them finely. I did a chiffonade and then cut across the pile several times to make small bits.

Cut your cream cheese into rough slices and put it in a mixing bowl of your choice. Add your corn and basil, grind in some pepper, and mash the whole business together with a fork until mixed well. Evaluate your schmear and decide if you want to add more veg of any type. I think some finely minced red bell pepper or shredded zucchini that's been salted and drained would both be pretty great here, but the simplicity of basil and corn is pretty amazing all by itself.

To serve, toast a halved bagel or two. Spread your schmear on the bagel halves and top with a few slices of fresh summer tomato. This particular tomato is a Caspian Pink heirloom I grew in my backyard. ZOMG SO GOOD. I may be growing one or two of these every summer for the next rest of my life.

Since tomato is slippery, it's best to put your bagel halves together and secure them with a toothpick or something similar before you try to eat them. I did not do this, which meant that I ended up squirting tomato slices and cream cheese halfway across the kitchen table. But then, the whole business was so good that it almost didn't matter.

More seasonal summer schmears!

- Baby beet and carrot schmear: grate and mix with cream cheese for a crunchy, sweet, and violent fuschia schmear.
- Zucchini bread schmear: grate, salt, & drain a fresh zucchini and crush in some toasted walnuts.
- Pungent pepper schmear: chop some roasted red pepper and a kalamata olive or two, and top with lots of crispy romaine. Feta optional.
- Fruit and herb schmear: dice up some firm nectarines or peaches and a big handful of fresh basil and mix them up. Do you want some crunch? How about adding some toasted pine nuts?
- Homemade jam schmear: are you surrounded by beautiful jars of freshly made summer jam? Mix it into some cream cheese and hold on to your hat!

Previously on the schmear show: all the herbs.

What new & interesting vegetable or fruit combinations do you want in your next schmear?

Summer rolls with fresh herbs & peanut-chili sauce

What's next on the it's-too-hot-to-cook menu? I propose the summer roll: seared tofu, slivered crunchy vegetables, and handfuls of fresh herbs rolled in a delicate rice paper wrapper and dipped in a rich, tangy peanut sauce. Obviously the tofu requires some minor stovetop heat (although you can always use raw, or just make rolls minus tofu if you prefer), but everything else is cold.

For vegetable fillings, I went pretty classic. In place of the usual rice noodles, I used shredded cabbage, which provided a nice extra crunch and eliminated a pot of boiling water on the stove. And of course summer rolls need an assortment of herbs, so I grabbed some mint and basil from the garden and a bunch of cilantro from the store.

The classic sauce for Thai summer rolls is peanut. I've been looking for a good recipe for way too long, and now I finally have one. I based it on Minimalist Baker's Thai peanut sauce, with a few key changes. For one thing, we don't have any chili garlic paste hanging around; instead, I used sweet chili sauce and omitted the extra sugar. The result was the best Thai peanut sauce I've ever made.

Summer rolls with tofu, veg, and herbs

firm tofu
peanut oil
cucumber
carrot
red bell pepper
cabbage
fresh cilantro, mint, & basil
rice paper wrappers
peanut sauce to serve

Start by cutting your tofu into long batons and searing them on all sides in a little peanut oil. Let them cool before you assemble your rolls.

Seed your cucumber, peel both it and your carrot, and sliver up all your vegetables. Strip your herbs off their stems; if the leaves are particularly huge, cut them into smaller pieces.

To assemble a summer roll, first soften your rice paper wrapper by soaking it in a shallow dish of water for about 1 minute. I used a pie plate, which was a bit smaller than ideal, but worked nonetheless. Only soak one sheet at a time, or your papers will get too soggy. You want them to be just flexible.

Put your rice paper on a work surface and pile your fillings in a line 2/3 of the way down, leaving a bit of space at either side. If you want a lovely decorative herb presentation, you can arrange your herbs in a line another third of the way up the wrapper, but it's also fine to just pile them up with the main filling. I decided to go for the fancy presentation not only because it's pretty, but because we have a cilantro-hater in the house, so I wanted to clearly distinguish between rolls with cilantro and those without.

Roll the bottom edge of your rice paper up over the vegetable and tofu filling. Fold in both sides to seal, and then continue rolling from the bottom up to create a long egg roll shape. Repeat until all your fillings are used up. I made ten rolls with half a block of tofu.

Serve your rolls with peanut sauce. If you have leftovers, cover them with a damp paper towel in a sealed container and they should keep for a couple days.

Thai peanut sauce

2 giant honking spoonfuls natural peanut butter
2 tbsp soy sauce
2+ tbsp Thai sweet chili sauce
juice of 1 lime
1/4 cup hot tap water

Stir the living crap out of your peanut butter before you use it. I'm just saying. Natural peanut butter naturally separates into oils & solids, so you want to be super sure you've gotten the oil well mixed down to the bottom of the jar before you start scooping. Do it! Otherwise you'll be facing a quarter jar of dry peanut paste in a few weeks.

Combine all ingredients but the water in a medium bowl and mix well with a fork. Add half the water and mix again. If you're happy with the consistency, go ahead and serve. If you want to thin it down a bit more, incorporate the rest of the water.

Eat with summer rolls.

Needless to say, there will be more peanut sauce in the future. I would absolutely make up a batch just to dip cucumber slices and carrot sticks. It would be great tossed with cold noodles and crowned with steamed broccoli or ladled over a plateful of seared tofu and vegetables. I'm also having visions of brushing it over eggplant slices and baking until awesome. It's all good.

Hooray!

A ruby red grapefruit mojito for Wendy Davis

I don't know about you, but I believe in women's bodily autonomy and safe access to reproductive health care. With that in mind, it's time for a cocktail.

If you've been under a rock (or not on Twitter), Wendy Davis is the Texas state senator who yesterday, with the help of her caucus, the parliamentary rules of order, and a gallery full of vocal & active protesters, kept nearly all the abortion clinics in the state of Texas from being closed. She did this by filibustering SB5, which proposed a slew of stringent restrictions, from just after 11 am until nearly midnight last night. If you weren't watching, I encourage you to read the Texas Tribune's liveblog of events and see what exactly she had to deal with. Pretty horrifying, right?

This morning, The Hairpin noticed that she also has a Pinterest account and a cocktail recipe board.

I can't think of anyone who deserves a cocktail more than Wendy Davis right now. So let's raise a glass with one of her pinned cocktails: Iowa Girl's grapefruit mojito.

A ruby red grapefruit mojito for Wendy Davis

1/2 ruby red grapefruit, supremed
10 fresh mint leaves
2 tsp agave nectar, honey, or simple syrup
juice of half a lime
1 shot white rum
~3 tbsp reserved juice from grapefruit
sparkling water to top

Muddle all but one of your grapefruit segments in a cocktail shaker with your mint leaves, sweetener, and lime juice. Add a handful of ice, rum, and grapefruit juice. Shake vigorously; pour into an ice-filled glass. Top with sparkling water and garnish with remaining grapefruit.

Drink with vigor.

Cottage cheese, carrot, and fresh herb salad

This weekend we are in Michigan for a family wedding. That means, among other things, that yesterday morning John and I had some of the vilest airport coffee you can possibly imagine. OH MAN. It was actually so bad that I'd put it in the "unbelievable" category. Not the best breakfast on the planet.

You know what is one of the best breakfasts on the planet? Cottage cheese.

Obviously cottage cheese is one of those foods that you either love or hate. If you hate it, that's fine. I love it. It's instant delicious protein and hits your bloodstream almost immediately: perfect for mornings when you need food NOW or you will collapse in a large and awkward pile.

I also theorize that, as a northern European mutt, I'm genetically prone to be able to digest dairy well as an adult. Hey, cows were one of the most important animals in both early Irish and German culture, right? And the cows were generally too valuable to butcher with any sort of frequency, so people relied on milk and cheese (among other things) instead. It makes sense.

What I do not love is cottage cheese mixed with sweet things such as jam or fruit. Cottage cheese should remain its own savory self. That's why I eat it plain, I eat it in salatka with radishes and sour cream, and I eat it like this, with a mishmash of vegetables and herbs.

On this particular occasion, I had a couple carrots, a green onion, a bunch of cilantro, and some backyard parsley and oregano. Why not mix it all together, pepper it up, and call it breakfast?

The texture contrast between crunchy raw carrot and tender cheese is especially nice.

Cottage cheese, carrot, and fresh herb salad

cottage cheese
carrot
green onion
herbs of your choice
salt, pepper

Put as much cottage cheese as you want to eat in a bowl. If you like, you can thicken & tarten it up by adding plain Greek yogurt or sour cream, but it's also totally fine to just leave it.

Scrub and grate your carrot; chop your green onion and herbs. Add them to the cottage cheese. Season with salt and pepper.

Mix everything together and eat it. Hooray! Breakfast of dairy-digesting champions!

What oddities are you eating for breakfast lately?

Mango and avocado salad with toasted sesame seeds

It's mango season!

I got this year's incoming mango alert from Janet of The Taste Space, who clearly loves them above all other fruit. She has an amazing array of vegan mango recipes, for those of you. Super exciting!

Anyway, when I went to the store a few days ago I discovered not only giant flats of mangos everywhere, but also a serious two-for-$1 sale. I didn't know what I was going to do with two mangos, but I bought them anyway. Avocados, green onions, and a bunch of 49-cent cilantro happened to jump into my basket too. And a few days later, when my avocados were perfectly ripe, I realized I had the makings of a seriously amazing salad on my hands.

For one large serving or two smaller servings, you'll need one small mango, one similarly sized avocado, one green onion, a handful of sesame seeds, and several stems of cilantro. If you hate cilantro, you can switch it out with fresh mint, or just leave it out entirely and double your green onions instead. I totally ate this entire thing myself, no problem.

If we'd had a cucumber lying around, I would absolutely have diced it up and added it too. Now that I've thought of that, I really need to try it. The extra crunch would be a great contrast to the softer textures of mango and avocado.

Mango and avocado salad with toasted sesame seeds

mango
avocado
green onion
cilantro
sesame seeds
red pepper flakes
salt
sesame oil

Start by cutting up your mango. If you've never done this before, here's a YouTube video that shows the technique very clearly.

Cut the mango flesh off the pit, one side at a time. Slice a crosshatch into each side of the mango, bringing the point of the knife up to but not through the skin. Scoop the finished pieces out with a spoon, or turn the skin inside out and cut off the pieces with a small knife. Trim as many extra bits from around the pit as possible. Peel and dice those as well.

Cut the avocado in half, removing the pit. Crosshatch each side, just like you did with the mango. Use a spoon to scoop out the cubes of avocado flesh.

Put your mango and avocado into a large bowl and mix gently. You may have to use your fingers to separate the bits of avocado.

Trim a green onion, halve it lengthwise, and cut it into fine slices. If you like cilantro, strip the leaves off several stems and chop them roughly. Add the green onion & herbs to the mixing bowl.

Toast a generous handful of sesame seeds in a small frying pan over medium heat. Keep an eye out and swirl the pan frequently. As they cook, the seeds will darken a bit, pop, and start to smell toasty and amazing. As soon as your seeds have turned golden, take them off the heat. Wait a minute for them to cool slightly before adding them to the bowl. The whole toasting process should take about five minutes.

Season your bowl of salad lightly with salt and red pepper flakes. Dress with a squeeze of sesame oil. Gently mix the entire business together. Taste, correct any seasonings, and serve.

This salad would be perfect alongside some seared teriyaki tofu or salmon. Actually, sushi-grade salmon cut into strips would be a great garnish to arrange across the top of a serving of salad. That sounds like the best lunch in the world.

What are you making with all the mangos that have been popping up lately?

Spicy tuna melt with cilantro and sambal oelek

I haven't had a tuna melt in at least ten years. The last time I remember eating a tuna melt, I was in a bowling alley in East Lansing. White bread, mayo, american cheese--the works.

So what spurred me to make a tuna melt for lunch? I mean, besides that I wanted to actually use some of the emergency tuna I've had in the cupboard for who knows how long.

Well, I wanted to change up the traditional tuna melt, and transform it into something more interesting and less mayonnaisey. I wanted to make it a vehicle for interest and spice. Okay. So let's make the tuna salad component mayo-less, and dress it with a bit of olive oil instead. And let's use some of the big bunch of cilantro that's been hanging out in the crisper. And how about spicing it up with some sambal oelek and mustard? I was out of Chinese hot mustard, so I had to use dijon, but it worked nonetheless.

I can totally see adding a bunch of chopped mint and basil (either along with or in place of the cilantro, according to your cilantro preferences), and maybe even a few drops of fish sauce, for a more obvious Thai tuna salad concoction. I could also see adding some diced hard-boiled egg, for double protein and fat deliciousness. It's tuna salad; you can do whatever you want to it.

One can of tuna will make enough salad for two open-faced melts.

Spicy tuna salad

can of tuna
celery
carrot
scallion (or red onion)
cilantro
sambal oelek (or other hot chili paste)
mustard (dijon or spicy Chinese)
salt, pepper
olive oil

Drain your can of tuna and deposit it into a mixing bowl. Finely dice a stick of celery, a small carrot, and a scallion, and add them to the bowl. You can use more or less veg according to your preferences.

Rip the leaves off a couple stems of cilantro, chop them up, and add them to the bowl. Spoon in sambal oelek and mustard to taste, season with a bit of salt and several large grinds of pepper, and dress with a drizzle of olive oil. Stir it all up and taste it to make sure you're happy with all the proportions.

Voila! Spicy tuna salad.

To make it a tuna melt:

spicy tuna salad
bread
cheese

Put spicy tuna salad on your choice of bread. Cover with a few slices of the cheese of your choice. I used sharp cheddar, which is admittedly a bit weird with the cilantro and sambal combination, but it worked out admirably. The only other cheese in the house was goat cheese, and that's not what I wanted, so. I do think some spoonfuls of cream cheese could be deployed to good effect instead, though.

Heat up your tuna melt(s) in the toaster oven or under the broiler. When the cheese is melted and beginning to risp, you're ready.

Eat. I put a bit of extra torn cilantro over the top of mine, because CILANTRO, but that's really up to you.

Note that it's impossible to plate a tuna melt in a fancy manner. The extra cilantro was all I could manage. I mean, I guess a bed of greens could happen, but that would be pretty nonsensical, so I didn't bother. And anyway, who cares? It's a tuna melt. What I really needed was a wide stoneware diner plate with the traditional blue rim. I bet we could even plonk down some kimchi in place of the traditional slaw and dill pickle spear.

Now I want a set of diner plates. Great.

What traditional foods have you turned on ear lately?

Cashew cheese and carrot

Cashew cheese has definitely been on my mind of late. What's not to love about a rich nut puree blended with herbs and vegetables? (Unless you have a cashew allergy, of course.) I decided to take advantage of our giant bush of oregano--the only non-citrus plant that is actually producing right now--and make a batch of cashew cheese with oregano and shallot. Perfect.

At first, I wanted to eat my cashew cheese in rolls, like I did with my raw zucchini rolls this past summer. I decided to use a beautiful yellow carrot instead of the totally out-of-season zucchini. Of course, carrot is quite a bit harder, and I found that my vegetable peeler only wanted to make the thinnest and most breakable of strips. So instead of making rolls, I cut thin slices of carrot and put cashew cheese on top of each. Maybe it's not quite as pretty a presentation (although I honestly find that arguable, with that brilliant yellow carrot color), but it's just as delicious.

I'm having a hard time naming this. Raw carrot and cashew cheese nibblers? Cashew cheese with oregano and shallot atop shaved carrots? Farmer's market yellow heirloom carrot with oregano-shallot cashew cheese and cracked black pepper? Sure, why not?

Farmer's market yellow heirloom carrot with oregano-shallot cashew cheese and cracked black pepper

1 cup cashews, soaked 1 hour or more & drained
leaves from four or five sprigs of fresh oregano
1/4 a large shallot or 1/2 a small one, chopped
1/4 tsp white miso, optional
1/4+ cups water
salt & pepper
a large carrot of your choosing
more fresh oregano and pepper to garnish

First, make the cashew cheese. Combine your cashews, oregano leaves, shallot, miso, water, and a mild sprinkling of salt and pepper in a food processor or blender. Pulse, scraping as needed, until the mixture is thick and well blended, adding a trickle more water if needed. As always, you should use a food processor for this if you have one. I used our blender, which was actually less frustrating than usual. Remove the finished cashew cheese to a container of your choice.

Scrub and peel your carrot. Slice it on the diagonal into oblong disks. Top each piece of carrot with a spoonful of cashew cheese, and garnish with cracked black pepper and an oregano leaf or two. Repeat until you have as many bites of carrot and cashew cheese as you like. Refrigerate any leftover cashew cheese in a sealed container and use it within a week.

These guys would make an amazing plate of hors d'ouvres for a party. Little delicious bites of finger food full of vegetables, nuts, and herbs? They'd certainly give the standard crudites a run for their money.

Hooray! Snacks for all!