Summerin' Succotash!

Summerin' Succotash

Huzzah, it's corn season! This year, we even tried to grow our own, and while we have a few very small ears, they certainly aren't ready for harvesting. Around here, the typical corn varieties we find are Butter and Sugar (alternating kernels of sunflower-yellow and butter colors), and Silver Queen (white-blonde kernels). We love them both and eat as much as we can from late July until the end of September when our local farmstands abound with ears.

A Couple in the Kitchen's own corn patch and Thai pepper plant

Straight off the cob is the perfect way to eat corn, in our estimation. But now and again we buy or cook too many ears and like to experiment with the leftovers. Some recent market finds mingled with our own garden veggies in our latest favorite side dish - succotash. 

Fresh mise en place for Summerin' Succotash

The recipe is simple and the result, summery fresh goodness. From the farmers' market, we shelled whole lima beans and sawed the corn off of two freshly shucked ears. From our own garden, we dug up a couple of shallots, shredded a few basil leaves, and chopped two tiny Thai hot peppers (love how they grow end-up!). We ran across the street and "borrowed" a beautiful red tomato from our neighbor which we diced. A little bacon grease leftover from that morning's breakfast, some time over medium heat, and a dash of seasoning and we had a side dish worthy of the season, perfectly paired with smoked pork chops.

Cooking process - so easy!

Substitution tips: You can use olive oil instead of bacon grease to keep it meat-free. If you can't find fresh lima beans, use about a cup's worth of frozen. Jalapeno would work instead of the Thai pepper as well.

Summerin' Succotash

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon bacon grease

2 shallots, peeled and sliced

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

2 ears corn, shucked, kernels removed

1 quart fresh lima beans, shelled (yielding about a cup) 

1 large tomato, diced

2 Thai peppers, finely diced

kosher salt, to taste

freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

13-15 basil leaves, shredded

Heat the bacon grease in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots and garlic powder and cook until they start to soften, about two minutes. Stir in the corn and beans and allow to cook until they are warmed through, about five minutes. Add the tomato and peppers and cook another 2-3 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and the cider vinegar. Remove from heat and toss in the basil leaves. Serve warm.

Grilled, smoked pork chop and "summerin' succotash"

2 Simple End-of-Summer Pastas (Perfect for Weeknights!)

Oh, pasta. Why do we love you so? That's right...it's because you're so easy to make and so versatile. We can take almost any ingredient and with it, turn you into a stunningly simple meal. And, there's always some of you in our pantry. Plus, you have carbs. And we love carbs. (Sorry, carb-haters.) (Not really.) 

Seriously, though. The two dishes featured here make the most out of farm- or garden-fresh ingredients and they can be prepped in the time it takes to boil the pasta water. It doesn't get fresher or easier than that!

Our first "simple end-of-summer pasta" is our take on Caprese salad, but in pasta form. It was inspired by a cheese made by Meadowstone Farm* of  Brooklyn, CT, and a pasta from Meriano's Bake Shoppe in Madison, CT, which is why we are calling it "Connecticut Caprese Pasta." Stracciatella (Italian for "little shreds") is fresh mozzarella that has been shredded then mixed with fresh cream. It's soft, delicate, and delightfully creamy. In this recipe, we mixed Meriano's tomato-basil infused linguine with Meadowstone's cheese, and our own chopped basil and chopped garden tomatoes. Voila! Dinner in about 15 minutes. Using the tomato-basil pasta added so much flavor, so try it if you can.

Connecticut Caprese Pasta

Ingredients:

1 pound pasta (we used tomato-basil linguine)

2 cups chopped garden tomatoes

8-10 basil leaves 

1 package stracciatella cheese (or burrata or fresh mozzarella chopped into bite-sized pieces)

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Set water over heat to boil pasta. While it is getting hot, chop tomatoes and basil; set aside. When water is boiling, cook pasta according to package directions. Drain pasta when ready and fold in chopped tomatoes and basil. Then fold in the cheese and season to taste.

*Also, check out this gorgeous salad we made with Meadowstone Farm's burrata. 

Our second "simple end-of-summer pasta" is one we made out of sheer laziness. We looked around one weeknight shortly after school began and realized that it was dinner time and we didn't have much to work with. A yellow squash donated to us by the neighbors (thanks, Whits), some sliced prosciutto from a Portuguese shop brought over by Amy's mom, some shredded parmesan that was in the cheese drawer, and whatever was in our garden. Okay, maybe it was time to go grocery shopping. And, this is probably why we have cats and not kids. But we did have pasta in the pantry (see above), so, we give you our strange little take on alfredo:

School Just Started Summer Squash Pasta

Ingredients:

1 pound pasta (we used thick spaghetti)

1 tablespoon bacon grease (don't judge us) (use olive oil if you must)

1 yellow squash (or zucchini), cut into "batons"

4-6 slices prosciutto, cut into thin strips

6-10 cherry tomatoes

1 clove garlic, thinly sliced

a handful of fresh parsley, chopped

1/4 cup chicken broth

1/4 cup half and half (or milk, or light cream, some dairy product)

1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Set water over heat to boil pasta. While it is getting hot, heat bacon grease in a large skillet over medium heat. Add squash, prosciutto, tomatoes and garlic, and cook until tender and fragrant. Add parsley and chicken broth, and cook 3-4 minutes. Add half and half and allow to simmer for 3-4 minutes. Add parmesan and cook, stirring thoroughly, until slightly thickened. Cook pasta according to package directions, and drain. Toss pasta with sauce and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Tomato Therapy

We know we keep saying we're tired, but it's the truth. Teaching isn't easy, and today after school, long before Chris even got home, Amy briefly hit a wall. She needed therapy. She tried retail therapy, but since the last paycheck she saw was in June, that wasn't going to work. Thankfully, though, therapy did arrive, in the form of slightly over four pints of cherry tomatoes from across-the-street neighbor, Barb, and her grandson James, of "James's Sunflowers and More," our friendly neighborhood farmstand (who even donate half of their proceeds to charity!).

We were worried that we wouldn't be able to do our annual cherry tomato roasting, since our own so-called garden is in a such a state of disarray, given that we were away for most of the summer. But in the last eleven years, if there is one thing we've learned, it's that we can count on our neighbors.

It took an hour and a half to wash and halve all those tomatoes and peel a head of garlic, but that was the point - that's the therapeutic part. Amy's always loves doing those type of tasks, you know, the ones you do over and over without having to think, like knitting, cross-stitching, filing, and apparently, halving over four pints of cherry tomatoes.

And right now, the oven is doing all the work and she's feeling much better, enjoying a well-deserved glass of wine and thinking of all the summery yumminess this past hour and half will provide in the dead of winter.

Our "recipe" for oven-roasted cherry tomatoes can be found here. And Barb and James? Thank you thank you thank you! We'll be bringing you a couple of jars to enjoy once they are done.

Tomato Bread Pudding (aka Rachel Ray FAIL, or DON'T Try This at Home)

Amy writes:

Monday was the first day back for teachers, and while most of you don't have sympathy for us, and only a few of you have empathy for us, we were tired. It was only professional development, but it was exhausting to hear how the new plan, based on state guidelines, of how we teachers are going to be "rated." I'm not going to go into that. But Tuesday was the staff potluck bar-b-cue and on the way home from school on Monday, I couldn't even bring myself to stop at the store. 

I got home, changed into pajamas, and wandered around the kitchen, racking my brain wondering how I was going to keep up my culinary reputation among my co-workers when I had almost no ingredients and no creative energy. Then I spotted that loaf of Italian bread I just had to buy on Saturday that was so far untouched. I could make a bread pudding (please, Lord, let me have some milk and eggs). 

Of course, the milk was spoiled and while Chris wasn't yet home, so could stop for me, by this time I had my eye on the pile of garden tomatoes (some ours, some from the neighbor) on the windowsill and the wheels started turning. Is there such thing as tomato bread pudding?

An Internet search turned up a few interesting recipes that I thought I could rely on: one from Giada, which sounded very good but seemed a little complicated on this particular evening; one from Geoffrey Zakarian, whom I adore and think is a genius, but that one sounded more like a bread salad, and I had made that last year; and one by Rachel Ray.  

Now, I don't mean to offend anyone here, but, to put it mildly (or, perhaps, to understate it), I am not a fan of Rachel Ray nor have I ever been. I don't like her forced perkiness, I can't stand those too-cutesy names for foods she makes up (e.g. "stoup" and "sammies"), and I firmly believe that really good food takes longer than 30 minutes to make. But I ignored my instincts out of sheer weariness and the desire for a relatively easy, quick recipe that used what I had on hand (namely, butter, old bread, and garden tomatoes).

I followed her recipe to the letter, other than doubling it to make a portion fit for a crowd. I took a long look at it before I put it in the oven. It's old bread, tomato puree, a little salt, a little sugar, a little pepper, some butter and cheese. Where was the real flavor going to come from, I wondered? It needed herbs, at the very least, so I sprinkled it with Italian seasoning and called it a night. As it cooked, it smelled very good. When it came out of the oven, it looked pretty good. I stole a small corner piece to taste. It tasted like soggy-ass pizza. So nasty that I refuse to include the recipe here because I really don't wish this on you. What a waste of some gorgeous tomatoes! Wah!

I re-checked the recipe and realized it wasn't me. I hadn't made any errors, had even added flavor to it, and now there was nothing else to be done. I cooled it, chilled it, brought it to school and served it at room temperature. Most unusually, but certainly not unexpectedly (especially after that icky taste test), not a single person asked for the recipe. Really, dear readers. Don't try one this at home.

Thanks for nothing, "Ray-Ray." Next time, I'll have Chris stop for milk.

Meatless Monday: Shakshuka

Okay, it has been a while since we have done a Meatless Monday post. Amy has had a stressful time the last few months, and when she's stressed, it's not chocolate she wants, it's steak. She's a carnivore to the core, but the Big Bad Work Project is over, and it's time to focus on health and all that, especially as the Big Bad Holidays draw near. So, at least for now, we have a Meatless Monday post for you.

A few weeks ago, we learned that a fellow food blogger by the name of Daniel Saraga died suddenly, and a bunch of his fellow bloggers, including us, made some of his recipes in his honor. We posted about them on the same day as a tribute to Daniel, and it moved us to be a part of that. When we took a look at everyone's posts that day, we were inspired to make more of Daniel's recipes. One that really spoke to us was Shakshuka, or Israeli eggs poached in a spicy tomato sauce. To us, it was fascinating. Neither of us had ever had anything like that before.

So recently we made Shakshuka for Meatless Monday. Following Daniel's recipe and suggestions, we created a spicy, chunky tomato sauce, poached heirloom eggs in that sauce, and ate the eggs using pita bread and our hands instead of forks and knives. While we made a few slight changes, we mostly followed Daniel's recipe, which can be found here. Exactly what we did is below, and the result was a unique Meatless Monday breakfast-for-dinner dish that we thoroughly enjoyed. Thanks, Daniel. Requiescat in pace.

Shakshuka

Ingredients:

1/4 cup olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1/2 teaspoon CT salemme pepper

5 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon hot paprika

1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes

6 eggs

1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled

Heat oil in a large skillet (we used our paella pan) over medium-high heat. Add onions and crushed pepper and cook, stirring occasionally for six minutes until soft and slightly browned. Add garlic, cumin, and paprika, and cook, stirring frequently for 2 minutes. Add diced tomatoes with liquid, reduce heat to medium and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Reduce to medium-low, stir and make six wells in the thick sauce. Crack eggs over wells, cover the pan, and cook for about five minutes, or until yolks have set to desired consistency. Uncover, and baste the eggs with a light coating of the tomato sauce. Sprinkle the feta throughout the pan, turn off the heat, and let sit for 1-2 minutes.  Serve right out of the pan with toasted pita bread and a side of home-fried potatoes.

EZ Orzo Salad

On Saturday, one of our nieces turned 30. Yes, that makes us feel old, and she's not even the oldest of our 15 nieces and nephews (including a great-nephew and a great-niece) who range in age from 37 years to 6 weeks old. The party Saturday, for K, was a casino night theme, and one of the many activities was to answer questions (there were 30) about the birthday girl in order to win extra bucks. And one of the things we found out about K is that her favorite salad is orzo salad.

Now, we know for a fact that K's orzo salad is delicious because she made it for us once. We foolishly did not ask her for the recipe, but orzo salad was on our minds the next day when we needed to come up with a side dish for a little Labor Day BBQ we were hosting. And so, here is our version of easy orzo salad, inspired by our beautiful niece K. It makes plenty (we fed 8 and still had some left over), and is a great way to use those cherry tomatoes that just keep on growing in our garden! And it went perfectly with our lemon-rosemary rotisserie chickens!

To find the recipe for the roasted tomatoes, go HERE.

Orzo Salad

Ingredients:

1 lb. orzo

1/2 lb. crumbled feta cheese

2 tablespoons boxwood basil

1 tablespoon purple basil

1 cup slow-roasted tomatoes with garlic

1 tablespoon basil oil

Prepare the orzo according to package directions. When it is done, drain it and rinse it well with cold water. Add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Serve chilled or at room temperature.