Sage Apple Cornbread

So, in addition to lemon cucumbers, my co-gardener across the city has a bumper crop of sage. There is sage drying for burning, and I managed to abscond with some so I could cook something with it.

Most of the things I'm familiar with using sage for are things like my Gnocchi, Sage, and Butternut Squash, which is very wintery and not what you want to make out of your nice summer garden. After a bit of looking around, this is what I landed on:

Apple Sage Cornbread (based on the cornbread recipe on the corn meal box!)

1c cornmeal

1c flour

.25c sugar

1tbsp baking powder

1tsp salt

1c milk (almond milk, around here)

1/3c oil

1 egg

Mix all those ingredients together, as your base mixture, then lightly sauté the following:

half an onion, finely chopped (do this first, it has to cook the most)

about 10 chopped sage leaves

1 cob of corn, kernels cut off

1 apple, chopped finely

Add these to the mixture, bake at 400 for about 20-25 min (8x8 pan).

Simple Sage Bean Salad

This is a nice, simple cold dish that paired well with the cornbread.

1 can white beans, rinsed and drained

half an onion, finely chopped

sage leaves, chopped

fresh chives, chopped

1 roma tomato, chopped (more if you like tomatoes more than I do!)

half a red pepper, chopped

about 2oz gorgonzola

top with oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper. Let sit in the fridge for a while to chill and let the flavors blend.

All in all, this meal was a nice use of some fresh ingredients, and made for a good summer dinner!

Lemon Basil Sorbet

I've warned you already that I'm all psyched up about sorbet this summer. Fortunately, my Mom sent me a series of delicious recipes, including a Basil-Lime sorbet. Even more fortunately, I had the end of a big bunch of basil left from the Farmers Market AND some lemons from our forth of July lemon bars (mmmm). Its on!

(a large handicap in my sorbet obsession is that I'm having a lot of trouble figuring out how to photograph them in a way that doesn't involve massive melting, and that looks appetizing. this was even more handicapped since it was green! on that note, excuse the tupperware)

This was extremely simple:

3/4c water

3/4 c sugar

3/4c fresh (FRESH!!! must be FRESH!!) lemon juice

zest from the lemons 

substantial handful of basil, chopped

1oz lemoncello (optional)

Boil the water and sugar briefly to make a simple syrup. Let cool a bit, then add juice (you can add less juice and more syrup depending on taste, I like things quite tart), zest, basil, and lemoncello. Blend in a blender until basil is thoroughly chopped. (note: I ended up actually having to strain out some of the larger basil pieces with a fork, this may or may not have been necessary).

I added the lemoncello because I feel that one issue with sorbets is that once they freeze they become very very hard. A small amount of alcohol (as in the chocolate kahlua sorbet) can lower the freezing temperature enough that it stays frozen but is scoopable (it can't be too much, though, or it'll never freeze).

Pop it in the ice cream maker, and let it go. This was very tart and refreshing and different, the basil made it interesting but wasn't overwhelming. It is definitely not something you'd eat a giant bowl of (at least at this level of tartness), but a small cup of it would be ideal to finish up a spicy meal or as a refresher on a hot day.

Enjoy!

Lemon Cucumber

So, there is nothing I like better than taking some weird ingredient and trying to figure out what to do with it.

I have posted about my own container gardening exploits but have yet to mention that I have a co-gardener across the city with a much bigger, and sunnier, balcony. Among the other things (like delicious strawberries) that are going on over there, is a complete experiment that we bought on a whim at Home Depot. Enter, the lemon cucumber. I don't know about you, but I'd never even heard about this thing... check it out:

(yes, the lemon cucumber is on a desk in front of a laptop. that is not my laptop, because I am 100% Mac  all the way. the cuc took a detour on the way to my house and went to my co-gardener's workplace so he could show it off).

If you look inside, its basically like a cucumber, but with more seeds and shaped like a lemon. The skin has little rough nubs on it but they rub off easily when you wash it. The skin itself is thin enough to eat, although apparently the earlier you pick, the better.

To test this thing out, we perused the internet for something simple, so we could actually figure out what it tastes like (turns out, just tastes like a cucumber). We landed on slices of cucumber with toasted sesame seeds and salt pressed on them (just toast the seeds, stir in salt, put in a dish and lay the slices on it so the seeds stick), paired with a nice chardonnay (since we always snack elegantly).

The verdict? the cucumber is fine. I don't think this is our favorite way to eat it, but there is potential, maybe if some additional flavor was incorporated. Fortunately, this plant is PROLIFIC, so we have a lot more chances! Stay tuned...

Fresh From the Farmers Market... Zucchini Basil Leek Quiche!

This weekend I had an old friend in town (shout out to VC!), and we took a break from (literally, seriously) eating our way from one end of LA to the other and back again (it was bliss), to go to the Farmers Market.

I decided I wanted something delicious from my spoils and did not want to go to the grocery store, so landed on quiche, which is a nice repository for random items from the fridge.

I've posted before about my potato crust, which is good, but sometimes you've been toiling all day (grant deadline... again) and its a holiday, and a girl just wants some crust. This was super simple, and unlike most pastry, doesn't involve butter so seems less decadent.

Crust:
1c flour
.25c olive oil
.25 c ice water
.5tps salt

Mix it all up. Press it, by hand, into a 9 inch pie pan. If you're me and for whatever reason can't find the pie pan, use a cake pan. Preheat oven to 400.

Filling:
6 egg whites
1c whatever veggies you have, if you're me: zucchini, bell pepper, leeks.
.5 cup shredded cheese (I used Trader Joes Quattro Fromagio)
.25c milk (I used almond milk because it seemed better than vanilla soy milk)
a few cloves of garlic
salt and pepper
fresh chopped basil (quite a bit)

I wanted to caramelize the leeks, and have recently watched (more than once, I confess) Julie and Julia, so I used real butter (as a side note, I would like to be friends with Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci as Julia and Paul Childs. as a second side note, I feel like Julia/Meryl would be horrified by my butterless olive oil crust). I cooked the leeks slowly then tossed in the other veggies for a bit.

Beat the eggs and milk, fold in the veggie mixture, cheese, and basil. Pour into the crust. Bake at 400 for 35 minutes or until nice and brown.

I served over some nice mixed greens... enjoy!

Light Coconut Sorbet

Its summer, and that means that its time for cool and refreshing ices, ice creams, sorbets, and the like. Fortunately for you, I'm on it. First up... coconut!

Now, one reason I like sorbets is that they're somewhat less guilt-inducing than their creamier cousins. This one is no exception, and (depending on the additions you select) is dairy free and vegan, to boot!

The first thing that is going to happen here is a shameless product plug, which is entirely of my own volition. I am the proud owner of a Cuisinart ice-cream maker (thanks, Mom!). Among other things this feeds my fascination for appliances that only have an on-off switch (for other examples, see the air popper. As a side note about air poppers, mine dates back to approximately 1985 when my Grandma gave it to me for Christmas. A few years ago I decided to look and see if I should buy a newer one, and it turns out that the world of air poppers has not advanced even slightly in the last 25+ years). But, I digress. I love this ice-cream maker- it is very simple, easy to clean, fast, and makes a nice amount. I highly recommend it.

Ok, lets get down to it. Here is what you need (brace yourself this is very complicated):

2 cans coconut milk (use light, I can't vouch for the non-light in this scenario, plus using light is what makes it non-coronary inducing)
1/3-1/2 cup sugar
1/2-3/4 cup grated sweetened coconut

for bonus points (and this, you WILL NOT REGRET):
either-
.25tsp almond extract
OR
4 tbsp Trader Joes Lemon Curd
OR I didn't try this since I don't have it a smidge of amaretto would be killer. It also might keep it a little softer in the freezer in the long term, which is a plus.

Mix it together, run it in the ice-cream maker until delicious, then pop into the freezer. If you want to, you can melt the sugar in a bit of hot water first, but this doesn't end up noticeably changing the taste and does make it take longer. This sorbet is rich and tastes quite decadent... Enjoy!

*** side note. The lemon curd, which is insanely delicious, is the thing which would tip you over into non-vegan category. Fortunately, I'm not vegan, because its prety good. If you wanted a replacement lemon zest might work. Don't read the label on the lemon curd, just enjoy it sparingly.