38 Power Foods, Week 8 -- Carrots -- On the Loose

I have no idea what you'd do without carrots.  I think I just couldn't cook without them.
I don't spend a lot of time thinking about, "Oh, I love carrots," but there isn't a week that goes by that I don't buy them. I can't imagine my crisper without carrots.  But I don't think I ever thought much about them before.

Two carrot stories come to mind...after this gorgeous salad:

Moroccan Carrot Salad

 We were camping in Texas once where we spent long days tubing on the Guadalupe River.  (Folks floated by with six-packs tied to their inner tubes.)  It was so hot the ice was a constant puddle in the coolers and we worried about our food.  (Why didn't I sell ice in south Texas?  Once again I had chosen the wrong profession.)   Insert bad language; there were six of us to feed three times a day for a week.  One poor woman stopped to say only one thing to me, "Even my carrots rotted today."   I knew how she felt; I was down to cabbage, potatoes, and onions, though I always have cans in the back of the van.  If your carrots betray you, you're in trouble.  She was heartbroken and I understood why.

And the other story....

Once, when I'd been on Weight Watchers forever, Dave said,

I liked you a lot better when carrots were no points.

Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream with Blueberry-Lemon Sauce

 I'm not a big plain homemade vanilla ice cream fan; I like coffee ice cream.  But add some beautiful hot fudge or sliced fresh peaches and I'll eat vanilla.  I'll even make it.   And it does fill the bill for a crowd.   It pleases nearly everyone.

When it's northwest blueberry time (warm days/cool nights make the best berries), I'm likely to make some fresh, quick blueberry jam for toast.  For years, I've filled freezer bags or containers full of these berries and kept them until blueberry season (not the Chilean season) begins again. (Store frozen and unwashed; rinse just before using them.)  I'm able to make great muffins, pancakes, or top my yogurt all year long without resorting to Fed Ex fruit.  Regular readers know my drill.  This year, I went for a beautiful blueberry topping (similar to the jam or conserve of other years) for that ice cream, but paired it with a bit of lemon to offset the sweetness of the blueberries.

A bloom bursting on beautiful blueberries!

38 Power Foods, Week 7 -- Brussels Sprouts --Pan-Roasted Brussels Sprouts with New Potatoes and Parmesan

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When brussels sprouts (note spelling) first came back in vogue (they were vegetable non grata for a long time, right?), I put off making them.  It seemed everything was being thrown into the oven with olive oil, salt and pepper. Was there anything you couldn't cook that way? Brussels sprouts joined in the olive oil-oven fun all over the food world.  I waited. 

(above) This is one of Madeline L Pots' award winning songs from her CD "Gonna Plant A Garden".

38 Power Foods, Week 6 -- Broccoli -- Broccoli Soup with Toasted Brie

When my kids were growing up, they all loved broccoli.  Pretty unusual.   One of them adored spinach and one of them always wanted pickles, but all of them would eat broccoli.   So broccoli it was.  A lot. To this day, when our youngest, Emily, is home from grad school, she asks for Chicken-Broccoli Casserole (a quick Chicken Divan known as "Government Girl Casserole" around the D.C area) and I don't have to look for a recipe.

Grilled Eggplant and Sausage Pasta Made on the Grill

 Every summer, I get about half-way through and want...chili.  Pot Roast.  Lamb shanks.  I'm a bit perverse, I'm fond of saying.  I can't wait for the first grilled chicken and tomato salads.  I'm nuts about burgers on the patio in May with zin.  But there comes a day when salad looks bleh (stick out tongue) and I don't even much care about that long-awaited burger.  I want something  real.  I want pasta.  And I don't want it in a restaurant.

So last year, in January (way ahead),  I experimented with a pasta dish that included grilled vegetables and sausage, but I still made a cooked sauce in a pot.  A lot of folks have been interested in that post,  so here's a continuation...

I had the idea then to create a dish totally done on the grill--much fresher-- and I've now tried it.  Even the pasta is cooked on the side burner, if you have one.  (If not, buy fresh pasta to cook indoors; it cooks much faster.)  I'll amend that; Dave mostly tried it.  I designed, orchestrated, cheer leaded, made fresh cheese, and ate it up.  The only true heated cooking I did was to saute some garlic in the microwave and warm the milk to make cheese! (5 minutes)  Do you have to make cheese?  Of course not.  Buy ricotta--fresh if you can get it.  But I'd love it you made cheese.

I lately have been encouraging cooks to just try making an easy, quick fresh cheese.  There isn't much simpler to do and the brief instructions are below.  I'll also point out that if you need a lot of ricotta, this is the way to go; you'll save a bunch of cash.  To purists, this isn't true ricotta, which is made with all milk; here I add some yogurt.  My idea actually is a riff  (a mistake I made and liked) from a recipe created by dessert guru and Parisian blogger David Lebovitz.  See the original here.  (See my first attempts and info on how to make a firmer cheese here.)

Imagine pasta in the summer and no hot kitchen?   Try this:

38 Power Foods -- Green Peppers -- Alyce's Ratatouille

Ah, summer.  Here's my favorite use for green peppers.   Right after my mom's stuffed green peppers, that is.

I loved the movie (Ratatouille).
Also "The Big Night"
And "Babette's Feast"
Try them.   Food movies.  Ah.

I love the real deal better.   If you become a devoted cook, your world will revolve around the seasons.  Stews in winter.  Apple pie in the fall.  Berries in the spring.  And...
High summer: Tons of vegetables at their peak. 

38 Power Foods, Week 4 -- Beets -- Golden Beet-Ricotta Salad with Fresh Cherries and Caramelized Shallots

In St. Paul, as nearly everywhere, it's hotter than...   Well, you fill in the blank.  We're cooking a bit, but not much.  This sweet-tart salad's beets cook in the microwave.  Even if you make the cheese, it'll only take you a total of about twenty-five minutes.  Most of those minutes are waiting for the microwave to beep and the milk to come to a quick simmer to create the cheese curds (hence the word "curdle," friends).  This salad is filling without being heavy and is perfect for meatless Mondays.

I wish you cool winds and cold wine.  Try this: