Mushroom and leek stuffing recipe

When I married my husband over 17 years ago (gasp!), I was more than excited to start hosting some of the holidays at our new home.  But I soon realized that my husband’s traditions were slightly different from the ones I grew up with, especially on Thanksgiving.  What?  No first course of pasta with marinara sauce?  Strange, I thought, but I could adapt!  My mother-in-law kindly shared with me the way things were done on the West Coast.  She liked to serve everyone a salad to start and plate the main dinner for each person in the kitchen.  Turkey and gravy, mashed potatoes and stuffing were all givens, and their stuffing of choice was Pepperidge Farm.  No problem!

My husband and I have hosted every Thanksgiving since 1996 and enjoy the comfort that develops when you do something over and over again.   I have since incorporated my own traditions like buffet – easier and much less waste – and soup to start.  About 6 years ago I decided to examine the ingredients on the seemingly innocuous bag of Pepperidge Farm stuffing.  Holy crap.  I couldn’t believe the garbage that went into breadcrumbs!  One thing I knew for certain was that Pepperidge Farm was uninvited to Thanksgiving…forever!

Actually, if it were up to me, I would drop stuffing from the menu altogether.  I really don’t get it.  With ALL the delicious food on the Thanksgiving table, many of the dishes starchy, we’re going to eat gussied up bread, a food we already overeat on every other day of the year??  I was trying to explain to my husband that mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes and butternut squash are all starches, as is the obligatory cornbread.  We should balance out the meal with additional vegetables, like Brussels sprouts!  “You’re taking this health food thing a little too far.  The stuffing stays!”

Although I like to think of myself as the dictator of my kitchen empire, the director of Thanksgiving, I’m really a democratic leader.  I figured my only option was to create a delicious, higher quality stuffing that looked like Pepperidge Farm and tasted enough like it, but even better.  So here’s my take on a good classic stuffing that’s not too gourmet, in fact tastes very close to our old preservative-laden standby.    I usually make two for our dinner, one with mushrooms to suit me and one without for my hubby.

I’ve tried this stuffing with whole grain breads like whole wheat or spelt, but truthfully it tastes a little “wheat-y.”  There was a fantastic bread I used to buy from Whole Foods called Miche, which was a sourdough bread made of a blend of whole wheat and white flours.  That was about as whole grain as my family could take on Thanksgiving.  Truth be told,  I prefer to go down in our family history as the benevolent one who said, “ let them eat stuffing!”

Mushroom and Leek Stuffing

Pamela
5 from 1 vote
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Servings 8 -10 (although I make 2 for 24 people on Thanksgiving and it is plenty)

Ingredients
  

  • 1 ½ pounds rustic whole wheat or white bread hard crust removed
  • 6 Tablespoons unrefined cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil
  • ½ pound shiitake mushrooms wiped clean, stems removed and discarded, caps sliced
  • ½ pound cremini mushrooms wiped clean, quartered
  • 2 stalks celery chopped
  • 1 large onion chopped
  • 2 leeks cleaned and sliced
  • 3 garlic cloves minced
  • 1 ½ teaspoons fresh thyme chopped
  • 1 teaspoon dried sage or poultry seasoning or 2 teaspoons fresh sage chopped
  • 2 Tablespoons flat-leaf parsley chopped
  • 2 teaspoons sea salt or 3 teaspoons if using unsalted stock
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • 3-4 cups chicken turkey or vegetable stock (depending on if you like it wet or dry)
  • 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter cut into small dice (optional)

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Place bread in a food processor and process into large crumbs or cut into ½-inch dice. (I like to do a combination.) You should have 10 cups. Spread bread over 2 large shallow baking pans and bake in upper and lower thirds of oven, stirring occasionally and switching position of pans halfway through baking, until completely dry, about 25 minutes. Transfer bread to a large bowl.
  • Increase oven temperature to 450 degrees and grease a 13x9-inch baking dish.
  • Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms, celery, onion, leeks, and garlic, and sauté, stirring occasionally until softened, 10 minutes.
  • Stir in thyme, sage, parsley, salt and pepper. Add vegetables to bread, tossing to combine.
  • Pour chicken broth over the bread mixture, tossing to coat evenly.
  • Spread stuffing in a baking dish, dot with butter and cover tightly with foil. Bake in upper third of oven until heated through, about 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake stuffing until top is browned, 10 – 15 minutes more. Stuffing can also be baked in a well-greased 12-cup muffin tin.

Notes

Bread crumbs can be prepared several days in advance.
Vegetables can be chopped the day before.
Entire casserole can be prepared up to the point of baking the day before and refrigerated or frozen and then thawed and baked according to the directions.
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Grain-Free Cauliflower Tabbouleh Recipe

We have had some interesting discussions in my classes lately about the latest findings concerning the presence of arsenic in rice.  Arsenic is a chemical element which occurs naturally in water, air, food, and soil.  This natural form is referred to as organic arsenic.  Arsenic is also the product of contamination from manmade fetilizers and pesticides, as well as burning coal and oil.  This inorganic arsenic is what is linked to certain cancers and has many people concerned.  Inorganic arsenic has found its way into may different foods through soil, as well as into our drinking water, but for some reason rice absorbs it much more than other foods.

Although I don’t take such reports lightly, the jury is still out on just how much arsenic is actually in rice since it varies from region to region (California-grown rice seems to contain less than rice grown in Arkansas, for example) and how much we should limit or not limit our rice consumption.  I’m generally not an alarmist in these situations, so I will be mindful of this information and continue to eat rice in moderation.  But it’s a good reminder of why it’s important to eat a well-balanced diet of a wide variety of whole foods (90% of the time, of course!).  I’m sure one can do research and find whatever it is we want to hear.  I like Dr. David Katz’s interesting point that cancer rates are generally low where rice consumption is highest.

But if you are concerned about your rice intake or you’re just looking to expand your horizons a little, have I got the recipe for you!  Cauliflower Tabbouleh uses barely steamed and grated cauliflower in place of the typical bulgur wheat, making this a grain-free,  gluten-free salad.  When the cauliflower is grated, it completely resembles rice in appearance and even texture a little.  It’s fun serving this tabbouleh to guests who usually have no idea what they’re eating and naturally assume it’s rice.  Cauliflower has a fairly subtle flavor, so you really pick up everything else that’s going on here with fresh herbs, juicy pomegranates and a sweet-earthy dressing.

Tabbouleh is traditionally a parsley salad with bits of bulgur wheat, onion, tomato and cucumber.  It’s such an awesome, healthful, fresh salad which I really enjoy when the weather is warm.  I make a really yummy version with quinoa that is one of my summer staples.  But this recipe with cauliflower is like an autumnal tabbouleh with some pomegranates for a sweet and juicy crunch.  Many “cauliflower rice” recipes call for the cauliflower to be raw, which I don’t enjoy as much as giving it a quick steam or blanche.  Raw cruciferous vegetables are also a tad harder to digest than lightly cooked.  Cauliflower is is very rich in fiber, phosphorus and potassium, and a very good source of Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Folate, and Manganese.  Plus the entire cruciferous family contains powerful anti-cancer compounds.

I just made this for Rosh Hashana lunch last week and served it with roast chicken and a few other salads.  The girls got it in their lunchboxes the next day mixed with a few spoonfuls of quinoa and one of them had some feta mixed in as well.  By the way, I am posting photos of the kids’ school lunches once a week on Facebook and Twitter in case you’re in a lunchbox rut.  I also love this cauliflower with Spice-Rubbed Salmon, grilled chicken kabobs, and even turkey burgers. More importantly, there are so many ways to have fun with this preparation of cauliflower.  I’m thinking about using it in place of rice for a vegetable fried rice, just for fun of course.    No one here is giving up rice that fast!

Grain-Free Cauliflower Tabbouleh

Pamela
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Servings 6 -8

Ingredients
  

  • 1 head cauliflower cut into florets
  • Kosher salt for cooking cauliflower
  • 2 cups diced celery about 5 stalks
  • Seeds from 1 large pomegranate about 1 1/3 cups
  • ½ cup finely diced red onion or shallot you can soak in ice water for 15 minutes to take the raw edge off
  • ¼ cup chopped parsley leaves
  • 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves
  • ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
  • ½ cup unrefined cold-pressed, extra-virgin olive oil
  • ¾ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ¾ teaspoon cumin
  • ¾ teaspoon sea salt
  • ½ teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper or to taste

Instructions
 

  • Prepare a large bowl with ice water. Place cauliflower in a large pot with an inch of water and a teaspoon of kosher salt. Bring to a boil and steam cauliflower for 3-4 minutes until crisp tender. Drain in a colander and immediately plunge cauliflower in ice water.
  • Drain cauliflower and transfer to a clean kitchen towel to dry off a little.
  • Fit the grater attachment in a food processor and gently grate/shred the cauliflower. It will look like barley or rice. Transfer to a serving bowl.
  • Stir in remaining ingredients and toss to combine. Taste for seasonings, especially if you allow this to sit. You may need an extra pinch of salt.
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Gazpacho with avocado recipe

The kids are going back to school tomorrow, which means that my favorite season is UNofficially over.  No more lazy days and waking up late or reading for pleasure instead of for a test.  Back to making lunches at 6:30 am and soccer carpools.  Not so fast!  The good news is that summer isn’t officially over until September 22nd and there are tomatoes to prove it.

If you’re new here, I am mildly obsessed with summer tomatoes, i.e. tomatoes grown in soil and hot July and August sun until they’re sweet and juicy and drippy with intense tomato flavor.  My garden doesn’t produce that many so I supplement with tomatoes from my local farmers markets or GROW, my favorite local market which always seems to find great produce from local farms.  I’m a lucky girl for sure!  I try to take advantage of the fleeting tomato season, so I buy a ton and seem to use tomatoes almost every day in some way, even for breakfast or in between meals.  Just now I took a handful of yellow grape tomatoes and ate them as a little snack like candy, which is what they tasted like.  Yum!

best to chop each ingredient separately; pureed  fresh tomatoes stand in the place of canned tomato juice

It’s always my preference to keep things simple when the ingredients are perfect, like sliced tomatoes and avocado on grilled bread with sea salt, but gazpacho is a recipe that is worth the extra 5 minutes to make.  We’ve been enjoying some hot weather here in Southern California so it’s the perfect time to enjoy this cooling, no-cook soup.  My version of gazpacho is not exactly traditional, but just as delicious and possibly a tad more healthful.  In Spain, it is very typical to add day-old bread, which I omit.  I don’t notice the lack of bread one bit, and I think if you’re going to indulge in bread, you might as well actually know you’re eating it.  I also don’t use canned tomato juice, which normally contains BPA or aluminum or both.  Yikes!  Not only that, I think you can get a cleaner, more tomato-y flavor from using awesome fresh tomatoes, not to mention more vitamins, minerals and antioxidants like lycopene.

My kids like gazpacho because they think it tastes like a blended salad and they can add an assortment of toppings.  As I’ve mentioned, I’m big into topping bars, especially for soups and salads, because I think it gives the kids more control over what they’re eating and I notice they tend to eat more of a food when they can make it their own, so to speak.  Our favorite topping with gazpacho is creamy cubes of avocado with give the perfect balance to the acidity of the tomatoes and vinegar.  But don’t let me stop you there.  Croutons, grilled corn kernels, chopped shrimp or crab are all fantastic additions to the top of this bowl of summery goodness.  I’ll come clean and confess I’ve even put out popcorn for Mr. Picky to add.  Whatever works, people.  I love pairing cool gazpacho with chicken kebabs and chimichurri sauce or a summer frittata for a light dinner.  But one of my favorite ways to serve it is in little shot glasses as an hors d’oeuvre.  With Labor Day weekend around the corner, here’s one way you can keep that summer feeling going strong.

Gazpacho with Avocado

Pamela
5 from 1 vote
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Servings 6

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups large chopped unpeeled Persian cucumbers about 3-4
  • ½ small red onion cut into chunks*
  • 4 large about 2 ½ - 2 ¾ pounds ripe tomatoes, cored and cut in half crosswise to remove the seeds, cut into chunks
  • 3 medium garlic cloves peeled
  • 2 teaspoons sea salt
  • freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • 2 Tablespoons Sherry vinegar
  • ¼ cup unrefined cold pressed extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 avocado cubed

Instructions
 

  • Place the cucumber in a food processor fitted with the metal blade and pulse until coarsely chopped. Transfer the cucumber to a large bowl. Repeat the process with the red onion and transfer to the bowl with the cucumber.
  • Take half of the tomato and pulse in the food processor until chunky and add to the bowl.
  • Smash the garlic cloves and place in the food processor with the remaining tomato pieces, salt and pepper, vinegar and oil. Process until smooth.
  • Transfer mixture to the bowl with the cucumber and onion and stir to combine. Cover and refrigerate until cold.
  • Before serving, garnish with avocado. Can be made several days ahead.

Notes

You can add finely diced radish for pepperiness; hot sauce or jalapeño for heat, croutons for crunch, or a dollop of sour cream. You can also use yellow heirloom tomatoes for a yellow gazpacho.
*Onion can be soaked in ice water for 15 minutes to take the edge off the raw flavor.
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Grilled panzanella recipe

We are alive and well on our European holiday, although I may need a vacation after we return home!  We met our friends in Berlin a few days ago and have been having the best time.   What a cool, interesting, beautiful and progressive city!  Daughter #1 announced she will be moving to Berlin after college.  First things first, Missy.   All the kids have been fantastic – really going with the flow.  At times, I felt like we were on an episode of Amazing Race, figuring out metro schedules and running to catch trains, deciphering maps, and trying to translate foreign languages.  The good thing is that we have generally been laughing our way through it all.  Our overnight train trip from Berlin to Munich last night was particularly memorable as it was a first for all to sleep in beds on a train.  Before you picture us on the Orient Express, think again!  It wasn’t nearly that glamourous, but certainly provided us with a few giggles and good stories to tell when we are back home again.  As I write this, we are on another train from Munich to Salzburg, Austria.

As far as eating a whole, unrefined diet, I threw in the towel back in Copenhagen.  It is terribly difficult to avoid European bread when it is so darn good.  Once I gave into bread, pasta/spatzle, pizza and pastries came after.  Something tells me Austria will offer more of the same.  Mr. Picky is enamored with game sausages and mustard and I had my first beer since college just for kicks.   One was enough and I would just as soon eat fried potatoes than drink another beer.  We have really eaten a broad mix of cuisines which I think you’ll find in most major cities.

I will not start a war here by declaring the bread best in any particular city or country, but I can say that Europeans love bread.  We’ve eaten baguettes, spelt rolls, pretzel bread, whole rye, sourdough and more.  I also know that Europeans like to be efficient with their food and make good use of day old bread which might be otherwise thrown away.  I thought today would be a good time to share my recipe for Grilled Panzanella.

Panzanella is essentially an Italian bread salad, although I believe Spain has its own version of it, too.  Earlier in the summer, I also did a post on Fattoush, which is a Lebanese take on the same.  Sometimes it can be as simple as soaking stale bread in a mixture of vinegar and water and mixing it with fresh tomatoes and a pinch of salt.  When I was growing up, we would tear the stale bread and mix it with tomatoes from the garden, basil, red onions, olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper.  The stale bread would soak up the oil, vinegar and tomato juices and soften up a bit, too – really tasty.

I don’t eat bread very often, but if you grill it, I’ll never turn it down, especially if it’s rubbed with garlic and the edges are slightly black and smoky.  Simple and heavenly.  Try rubbing grilled bread with a cut, ripe tomato and you’ll go crazy.  In as much as I love a simple panzanella in the summer, I knew it would be better with grilled bread and it is!  Ina Garten has a Grilled Panzanella which I hear is delicious.  Not only does she grill the bread, but onions and peppers as well.

This salad is a snap to make and prep in advance if you need to, just keep the bread, chopped vegetables and dressing separate until you’re ready to serve.  Although most Italians would disagree with me, I think you should feel free to create your own yummy version of Panzanella.  I added capers to this one because I love a salty bite, but olives would be great, too.  There are versions with ripe, sliced peaches.  I also think baby mozzarella balls or chickpeas would also be nice in here, but try and keep it simple.

Our train has just entered Austria and we are already enamored of this beautiful countryside and all the adventures that await us.  Stay tuned….

Grilled Panzanella

Pamela
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Servings 6

Ingredients
  

  • ½ cup unrefined extra-virgin olive oil plus extra for brushing bread
  • 1 large clove of garlic minced + 1 large clove
  • 4 Tablespoons of raw apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar raw apple cider vinegar is a more healthful choice
  • fine sea salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 4 Persian cucumbers unpeeled and chopped into ½-inch thick chunks
  • 2 large ripe tomatoes cut into 1-inch cubes (about 1/2 pound each)
  • 1 cup fresh basil leaves chopped
  • 6 Tablespoons capers drained
  • 2 shallots sliced
  • ½ pound loaf or crusty peasant bread or baguette cut on the diagonal into 1-inch slices

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the grill to medium heat.
  • In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, minced garlic, vinegar, ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Set aside.
  • Place the cucumbers, tomato, basil, capers, and shallots in a large bowl. Sprinkle with large pinch of salt and pepper.
  • Brush bread slices on both sides with olive oil and sprinkle lightly with salt. Toast them on the grill until golden, about 4 minutes on each side. A little black char on the edges is good! Cut a thin slice off the garlic clove and rub one side of each piece of bread with the cut side of the garlic.
  • Cut the bread into cubes and add to the cucumber mixture. Pour in the vinaigrette and toss to combine.
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Shrimp with tomatoes, white beans and spinach recipe

Shrimp with Tomatoes, White Beans and Spinach | Pamela Salzman

Shrimp with Tomatoes, White Beans and Spinach | Pamela Salzman

Since my husband and I both have our own businesses, a big family vacation hasn’t been in the picture for many years.  We never felt that we could take the time off from work or spend the money during uncertain economic times.  But with Daughter #1 off to college (we hope) in two years, we decided it was now or never.  So here we are in Amsterdam with two teenage girls and a picky 8-year-old on the first day of a 3 1/2 week European adventure.  So far so good!

We are hoping to create some amazing memories, expose the kids to beautiful and interesting places and cultures, and enjoy some quality family bonding time.  I purposely didn’t purchase any international phone plans for the girls so that they would focus on our experiences, but somehow they have already figured out how to call and text their friends for free.  Oy.  Regardless, I decided to let a lot go before we embarked on this trip, especially with regard to food.  Sometimes you have to go with the flow and not create any unnecessary stress at a time when you are supposed to be relaxing.  So I ate a cheese and tomato pancake in Amsterdam today and didn’t think about the white flour, non-organic butter and cheese I had inhaled.  Until now.  Just kidding!  Totally ok with it.

What I did think about before I left was you dear people and how I still wanted to continue to inspire you with some healthful recipes to cook.  I hope you know that I really do walk the talk and prepare dinner for my family at least five nights a week, sometimes six or seven.  I especially like to make sure I cook the night before I leave for a trip so that we have a proper meal and a good night’s sleep.  So I thought I would share with you what I made for our last dinner at home.

Granted, the night before we left for 3 1/2 weeks was a busy one and Pamela had veeeeery limited time.  Shrimp with tomatoes, white beans and spinach was one of the only things I knew how to whip up in about 15 minutes and feel good about.  Yes, you see white rice on the plate because my choice was either brown rice and not going out to buy Mr. Picky a rain jacket or white rice and keeping him dry on our trip but losing a little fiber.  Mr. Picky always wins and I’m glad since we had a little sprinkle tonight as we walked back to our hotel after dinner.

With some grilled zucchini, this was otherwise the perfect meal.  You know by now I could eat tomato-garlic-olive oil on anything and I love seafood.  But I will admit right now that Daughter #2 is still boycotting anything that swims and I my husband doesn’t eat shellfish.  The beauty of this dish is that you can easily adapt it for vegetarians or non-seafood eaters by eliminating the shrimp since the white beans add lots of good protein.  So the two of them just picked out the shellfish.  More for me!  If you can find good quality wild shrimp, it’s actually a really good source of Vitamin D and iodine, and very low in fat.

I used Eden Organic canned white beans for this recipe and fresh tomatoes.  The beans make the sauce nice and creamy so include something in the meal to soak up the juices.  Besides rice, I think polenta or millet would be good choices too.  You could also sub arugula for the spinach, but Mr. Picky just started eating spinach so I didn’t want to push my luck.  Speaking of pushing it, it is now morning and everyone is waiting for me to head over to the Van Gogh Museum.  Check out my daily posts on Twitter and Facebook for more European updates!

Shrimp with Tomatoes, White Beans and Spinach | Pamela Salzman

Shrimp with Tomatoes, White Beans and Spinach

Pamela, inspired by DoItDelicious.com
5 from 4 votes
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Servings 5 -6

Ingredients
  

  • 2 Tablespoons unrefined cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil
  • 6 medium cloves of garlic finely chopped
  • 1 pound fresh tomatoes peeled, seeded and diced (or canned, drained)
  • ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
  • sea salt
  • ½ cup dry white wine
  • 1 ½ pounds large shrimp peeled and deveined
  • 1 ½ cups cooked cannellini beans or 1 15-ounce can drained and rinsed
  • 2 cups baby spinach leaves
  • Freshly ground pepper to taste

Instructions
 

  • Heat the oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add the garlic and cook just until fragrant, less than a minute. Stir in the tomatoes, red pepper flakes, parsley and a few healthy pinches of salt. Cook for 2 minutes.
  • Add the wine and bring to a simmer. Add the shrimp and cook, turning, until opaque throughout, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the beans, spinach and a few grinds of black pepper. Cook until everything is heated through and spinach is wilted. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Delicious served over rice, millet, polenta or pasta.

Notes

Great Northern beans can be subbed for the cannellini.
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Fattoush Recipe

Is it sweltering where you are?  I would trade places with you.  As I write this it is raining and cold where I live in Southern California.  At the beach.  I want my money back.  Daughter #1, however, is in Connecticut with no air conditioning, and soon to be in Washington, DC where the temperature is expected to hit 97 on Tuesday and Wednesday and so on.  I’m jealous.  I love hot weather.  More than that, I love eating hot weather food in hot weather.

Did you know that all food has a thermal nature?  It has the power to warm you up or cool you down.  And that’s why nature gives us tomatoes and cucumbers in the summer and not the winter, because they are cooling and hydrating and the perfect antidote to beat the heat.  You know how obsessed I am with summer tomatoes and since they arrived on the scene a few weeks ago, I haven’t let up.  (I promise, however, that not every recipe this summer will involve a tomato.)  Even though the temperature is a perfectly mellow 70 degrees where I am, it hasn’t stopped me from making salads like Fattoush, one of my favorites.  I wish I could tell you with certainty if Fattoush is Lebanese or Syrian or Israeli, but I have no interest in starting a cold war on my blog so shall we just say it’s Middle Eastern?  My only goal is to convince you to make this salad because it’s delicious, addictive and good for you right about now.

Fattoush reminds me of Panzanella, the Italian bread and tomato salad which I happen to be teaching this month in my classes, although for sure it has its differences.  Basic Fattoush is diced up tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, parsley, and fried or toasted pita bread with a lemon juice-olive oil dressing.  There is also a special ingredient which I fell in love with only a few years ago called sumac.  Stay in your seats, it’s not the poison kind, but this sour, citrusy berry that is dried, ground up and adds a puckery, tartness to the salad as well as a vibrant dusting of red.  (Are you thinking anthocyanins and antioxidants like I am?  Yes!)  It’s very easy to find online or in Middle Eastern markets, spices shops or at some local natural foods stores.  You will want to get some!  Now that’s just the basic.  You can add romaine lettuce, radishes, purslane (a juicy green that is hard to come by), and/or mint.  It’s hard to go wrong.

I have eaten this salad at Middle Eastern restaurants and been served a little scoop of it on the plate as if it’s an after thought.  Hmph!   Why is that?  I could make a whole meal of Fattoush with a handful of chickpeas thrown in, especially if I don’t feel like turning on the oven or standing in front of a hot grill.  I have an Israeli friend who consumes this for breakfast and why not?  However you decide to eat this, you will surely be embracing summer and be in harmony with nature.  Enjoy!

Fattoush

Pamela
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Servings 4 -6

Ingredients
  

  • 3 medium tomatoes cut into ½-inch cubes, about 1 pound
  • 2 ½ cups diced cucumber about 1 pound
  • ½ cup diced medium red onion soak in ice water for 15 minutes to reduce harsh onion flavor, if desired
  • ¼ cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
  • 2-3 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice about ½ lemon
  • 2-3 Tablespoons unrefined cold-pressed olive oil
  • 1 Tablespoon ground sumac
  • ¼ teaspoon fine grain sea salt or to taste
  • A couple generous handfuls of pita chips

Instructions
 

  • Place the tomatoes, cucumber, onion and parsley in a serving bowl.
  • In a small bowl or glass jar, combine the lemon juice, olive oil, sumac and salt. Pour over the vegetables and toss to combine.
  • Crumble pita chips on top and toss together. Serve immediately.

Notes

Other additions: cooked chickpeas, crumbled feta, diced green pepper, chopped pitted olives, cubed avocado, julienned radish, shredded lettuce. I noticed Sarah at My New Roots used raw flax crackers in her Fattoush instead of toasted pita -- great idea!
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Eggplant caprese recipe

Ok, my kitchen is more or less back together except for a few cabinets, and I couldn’t be happier.  Never mind that every other room in the house has its contents spilled out into random hallways or in the living room which we never use.  It doesn’t even bother me that we are all still sharing one bathroom … I can cook again!  Takeout everyday was putting me in a cranky mood — and when Mama Bear ain’t happy, no one’s happy!  I think the novelty of eating out even wore off with Mr. Picky, although my husband keeps trying to remind me that I was “only” inconvenienced for five days.  Talk to the hand, dude.  Listen, I had to make a fruit crisp on the front porch Wednesday.

I did a great big shop at the grocery store and the farmer’s market on Tuesday and I was giddy with all the possibilities.  I think one of the reasons I get so excited when summer produce hits the stands is that I wait for it all year long.  Local peaches, corn and tomatoes are special!  I especially have a thing for summer tomatoes, and I’m hoping you do too, since there are lots of tomato recipes in the pipeline.  You know that once you’ve had a truly vine-ripened, sun-kissed tomato, you can never go back to those hard, tasteless orbs from the supermarket that have nothing to do with a real summer tomato.  I remember as child going into my father’s garden in the summer with a salt shaker to eat tomatoes with salt right off the vine.  Heaven.

Tomatoes make this girl’s heart grow fonder when they are paired with basil.  This classic combination is a favorite of mine and one I use in so many different dishes.  Just this past week, I posted recipes for pasta with cherry tomato sauce, as well as a frittata with garden vegetables, including tomato and basil.  In last summer’s classes, I taught pasta alla checca, which is a raw tomato and basil sauce.  Of course, the traditional salad on every Italian menu is a Caprese, which is nothing more than alternating slices of good quality tomato and mozzarella cheese with basil, olive oil and salt.  Several years ago I was in Italy with my family visiting a friend of my father’s on the Amalfi Coast.  We had all eaten a large lunch that day and weren’t really hungry for a full dinner, so our hosts pulled tomatoes and basil from the garden,  freshly made local mozzarella from the fridge, local olive oil and olives, and some bread from a bakery down the road.  I know it may not sound like much, but every ingredient was the best I had ever had, and to this day I consider that meal one of my favorites ever.

One of my go-to side dishes in the summer is simply grilled or roasted eggplant slices.  Occasionally I’ll add some mint and feta, but a few years ago I taught this recipe, which is essentially eggplant-meets-Caprese.  Eggplant is such a sponge and loves all that juicy-tomato-and-olive-oil-goodness.  I don’t eat very much dairy, so instead of big slices of cheese, I have added a few cubes mixed in with the tomato and basil mixture.  In this photograph I used fresh buffalo mozzarella, which is a little milkier and lighter tasting, but you can use whatever cheese you’ve got, including burrata, feta or goat cheese — or none at all!  I usually try to teach my girls to eat like civilized ladies, but I have found myself many a time eating this with my hands as an eggplant taco.  Like the other night when we couldn’t find the flatware.  It’s probably still in the living room…

Eggplant Caprese

Pamela
5 from 3 votes
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Servings 6

Ingredients
  

  • 2 medium eggplant unpeeled, sliced crosswise into ¾-inch slices
  • 2 Tablespoons unrefined cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil + more for brushing eggplant
  • Sea salt and black pepper
  • 2 cups chopped seeded tomatoes
  • 2 large garlic cloves crushed
  • 1 small handful fresh basil leaves julienned
  • 4 ounces or more if you like fresh mozzarella, cubed

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and line 2 baking pans or cookie sheets with parchment paper. Place the eggplant slices on the paper and brush them generously on both sides with olive oil. Sprinkle with sea salt and black pepper, then roast for 40 minutes, or until golden brown. Allow to cool.
  • Mix together the tomato, garlic, 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the basil. Season to taste with sea salt and black pepper. Set aside.
  • To serve, arrange the cooked eggplant slices, slightly overlapping, on a serving platter. Scatter the mozzarella chunks on top and spoon over the salsa. Remove the garlic cloves.
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Pasta with 5-minute cherry tomato sauce recipe

Mr. Picky and I had the most glorious week on Long Island visiting my parents.  My sisters and their kids came to be with us too, so it was quite a full house.   It kind of felt like summer camp with lots of old fashioned fun outdoors from morning til dusk except for the brief break to watch a few games of Euro Cup soccer.  Even though the kids were always playing ball, swimming or taking turns on the hammock, I felt as though we were always eating.  Italians tend to linger at the table for quite a bit, so breakfast morphed into lunch, and lunch lasted for hours, although I surmise that was due to the daily wine.  I finally realize why my parents drink so much espresso.

Whenever I come into town, I am in charge of organizing and cooking all meals, which I don’t mind one bit.  The deal for the week is that whoever cooks, doesn’t have to clean up, so I think I have the better job.  It isn’t difficult to cook for my family.  They are so appreciative, easy going and I’m the only one with a child named “Picky.”  My sisters’ kids are the most fantastic eaters and they are all younger than mine!  I still kept it simple, making frittatas, tacos and salads for lunch and grilled chicken, roasted salmon and more vegetables for dinner.  My father’s garden is loaded with a variety of berries, herbs and greens right now, which was such a pleasure for me.

Besides cooking for the family, one of my other favorite things to do when I go visit is to check out the local natural foods stores.  Yep, that’s a fun outing for me.  I love to see what the Long Island stores carry that mine don’t.  This time around I was pleased to see many new sprouted grain products on the shelves.  I was able to buy Shiloh Farms sprouted spelt flour for pancakes and a sprouted wheat pasta for one night’s dinner.  There’s only so much quinoa and millet my father will eat.  Soaking and sprouting grains, nuts and seeds helps to neutralize phytic acid, which binds with certain minerals and prevents them from being absorbed by the body.  Soaking and sprouting helps to make the grains more digestible and the nutrients more absorbable.  It’s a much more healthful food that way.  I promise to do a post on this soon!

Even though I was happy to cook this week, I didn’t want to spend too much time in the kitchen when I could have been on the hammock with a book or chatting with my sisters.  So I thought spaghetti with 5-minute cherry tomato sauce would be perfect and it happens to be my favorite pasta dish too, and not just because it’s a quickie.  Sweet cherry tomatoes, basil, garlic and olive oil — how can you go wrong?  I even like it better than pasta all checca, which is essentially the same thing, but raw.  I love the silkiness of the barely cooked tomatoes and how it coats the pasta.  You get a little more depth of flavor when you cook the garlic and tomatoes even just a little.  The key is to halve the cherry tomatoes or you can use peeled and seeded beefsteaks, so that you get a nice juicy sauce.  I never simmer the tomatoes too much, though.  You don’t want it all to evaporate on you.

 If your garden or market has some new summer tomatoes that you’re anxious to use, do try this recipe.  All the kids slurped it up and asked for seconds.  It’s such a classic, as well as fresh and easy.  In fact, after you make it once, you’ll see how this sauce can be the basis for many other dishes including chicken and fish as well as beans with vegetables for a summer vegetable ragu.  The tomato season is just getting started and so are my recipes with my favorite summer vegetable (fruit, if you must), so look out for more of those.  If there are any gardeners out there, please share what’s coming up in your backyard!

Pasta with 5-minute Cherry Tomato Sauce

Pamela
5 from 2 votes
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Servings 6

Ingredients
  

  • ¼ cup cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil
  • 4 cloves of garlic thinly sliced
  • pinch of crushed red pepper flakes optional
  • 2 pounds cherry tomatoes about 2 ½ -3 pints, stemmed and halved
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • ½ cup basil leaves
  • Kosher salt for pasta water
  • 1 pound whole grain pasta such as whole wheat or spelt
  • Grated parmesan or pecorino-romano cheese optional

Instructions
 

  • Heat the oil in a large sauté pan over medium low heat. Add the sliced garlic and red pepper flakes and swirl over medium until fragrant. When the garlic just starts to turn golden around the edges, increase the heat to medium and add tomatoes and 2 big pinches of salt plus pepper to taste. Cook tomatoes, stirring, until they start to lose their shape, about 5 minutes. Check seasoning and remove from heat. Tear or slice basil leaves and stir into tomato mixture.
  • Bring a pot of water to a boil and add a tablespoon of kosher salt. Cook pasta until al dente. The time will vary depending on the type of pasta you use. Remove a ladleful of pasta water and reserve.
  • Drain pasta and transfer to the skillet with tomato mixture and toss gently to combine. Add a little reserved pasta water if mixture seems too dry. Serve with cheese, if desired.
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