Garlic Aioli

I prefer aioli to mayonnaise, aioli has garlic and olive oil, mayo is made with a milder oil and no garlic, either way homemade is the best.

Once you try this it will be hard to go back to the stuff they sell in the store.

Ingredients

egg yolk
olive oil
fresh garlic
Dijon mustard
lemon juice
salt

Depending on how much you want to make, the proportions are one egg yolk to 1/4 cup oil.
I use one clove of garlic and 1/2 teaspoon of Dijon mustard for that amount.

What makes this easy is the small food processor I use to make it.
It has little holes in the top to help the oil drip slowly into the egg mixture.

1) Start by chopping the garlic.

2) Add the egg yolks and Dijon mustard and whiz. One site I read suggests adding a teaspoon of water to help the egg yolks be more dilute.

 I  added some fresh basil leaves to this batch.

3) Once this mixture is well blended you can begin to add the olive oil. The holes in the top to the food processor will help you to add it slowly which is VERY important in the beginning. If you add it too fast it will not combine properly. I use a measuring cup with a spout to pour the oil into the top of the food processor.

4) I usually stop and check the mixture about halfway through adding the oil.
It will look like this.

5) Continue to add the rest of the oil. The mixture will be quite thick.

6) To thin it down and give it more flavor add lemon juice and salt. Start with a tablespoon of lemon juice and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Mix and taste. Continue to adjust both ingredients until you have the texture and flavor you want.

7) Use your aioli on sandwiches, in salad dressings, and sauces for asparagus or fish.
    It is best to use it up within a couple of weeks or less.

You can use this same recipe for making mayonnaise, omit the garlic and use a mild oil like canola or safflower. You can use vinegar instead of lemon juice to thin it at the end.

Summer Fruit Tart

Last Sunday some friends came over for dinner and I wanted a dessert that would highlight my fresh raspberries and blueberries.

The very first post in this blog was for a winter fruit tart, it has a wonderful shortbread cookie crust and a light, versatile cream cheese filling. 

It was the perfect match for all that fresh fruit. It's simple and a great way to impress your dinner guests !!

Potage St. Germain

Potage means thick soup in French and I have no clue why St. Germain had this pea soup named after him.

I can tell you that Potage St. Germain is a delightful summer soup with lots of room for variation.

My dear friend and yoga teacher served it to me for lunch the other day, I was so surprised to find it has lettuce in it !!

Ingredients
2-3 tablespoons butter or olive oil
1 head of butter lettuce or several baby gems lettuces*
1 cup or so chopped  leeks, spring onions or regular onions
2 cups fresh or frozen peas
4 cups water or stock
salt and pepper to taste

1) Heat the butter or olive oil in a soup pot, add one cup chopped onions or leeks.
    Saute the onions until just soft.

Spring onions.

2) Chop, wash and spin the lettuce.

Butter lettuce.

Salad spinner with lettuce.

3) Add the lettuce and 2 cups of peas to the onions in the pot, and cook for 4 to 5 minutes.

4) Add the 4 cups of water or stock, cover and bring to a simmer. Remove the lid and cook until the peas are tender, 5 to 10 minutes.

5) When the soup has cooled enough, puree it in a blender or food processor. To adjust the thickness, use a slotted spoon to scoop out the green stuff and blend in batches.  Add some of the water from the pot to make it thinner to taste. Add salt and pepper to taste.

We like this soup without much other seasoning. In the last batch I did add the juice from one lemon. My friend Laurie adds a pinch of cumin and another recipe I saw online used fresh mint (1/4 cup for a recipe this size). You can top it with some yogurt, sour cream or fresh chopped herbs like parsley.

* Another great option is to use zucchini in place of the lettuce. I used about 2 cups chopped zucchini in my last batch and it was very tasty !!

Seaweed salad without the seaweed.

Over the weekend Bob had smoked some of the salmon we had bought straight off the fishing boat at the Santa Cruz Yacht Harbor. He did an amazing job. We served most of it for Father's Day lunch.

For dinner tonight I wanted to do a simple roll your own sushi type dinner to highlight the smoked salmon.

 I wanted to serve it with edamame, and seaweed salad. Whenever we go out for sushi we always get a seaweed salad.

My local grocery store didn't have seaweed salad like I thought it would.
Undaunted I decided to make my own version with what I had around the house.

Laurie's Unseaweed Salad

Ingredients
1 large carrot
1 small zucchini
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
3 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon red chili flakes
1/2 teaspoons black sesame seeds.

1) Into a medium size bowl add 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil, 3 tablespoon rice wine vinegar and 1/4 teaspoon red chili flakes. Whisk together.

2) Grate one large carrot and one small zucchini.

3) Toss into the bowl with the dressing and mix together. Sprinkle with a 1/2 teaspoon black sesame seeds.

I was surprised and delighted with how much it tasted like those seaweed salads at the sushi restaurants !!

Zucchini Bites

This time of year there can never be too many recipes that use summer squash :-)
These little bite remind me of the zucchini pancakes I posted a few weeks ago, they make great appetizers at a party or brunch.

The recipe calls for mini muffin tins which I happen to have.

You could probably try them in a regular muffin tin. The recipe with only make a dozen and might need to bake longer.

Ingredients.
2 large eggs
2 cups grated zucchini ( 1 to 2 zucchini depending on the size)

With this size zucchini I needed one and a half to make the two cups.

1 small onion grated or finely chopped
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1/3 cup finely chopped parsely
1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper

1) Preheat oven to 400 F, spray mini muffin tins with spray oil.
2) In a large bowl, lightly beat the two eggs.
3) Add grated zukes, onions, cheese, breadcrumbs, parsley, salt and pepper.

4) Mix together with a wooden spoon. The batter will be sticky and loose.

5) With a spoon, fill each muffin cup to the top.

6) Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until the tops are browned and the mixture has set.
   

7) Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool.

8) They should keep for 4 to 5 days in the fridge and should freeze well. I wouldn't know since they all disappeared at the party they attended !!

Note: You can use any kind of cheese that melts well, or use grated carrot if you want them dairy free. Fresh chopped basil would be a nice addition. Use gluten free bread or crackers to make you own crumbs for a gluten free appetizer.

Artichokes, those funny thistles.

Yes, artichokes are thistles. If you let them go to seed you can see the resemblance. How anyone figured out to cook and eat them is beyond me.
As a native Californian I grew up eating these weird vegetables...give one to someone from the Midwest and chances are they will go hungry.
The most common way to cook them is to steam them whole and serve them with a dipping sauce, melted butter or mayonnaise. Some more ambitious souls, stuff them.

Here is my easy way to prepare them for a side dish at dinner or a fun party appetizer.

I will let you in on a secret that we learned from the guys that grow them: the smaller the choke the better the favor and the more tender they are. So while those large orbs may look cool and seem like a better deal, go for the small artichokes !!

Laurie's marinated artichokes

Ingredients

4-6 small artichokes
1/4 cup of fresh herbs
1- 2 cloves of garlic
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
2/3 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste.

1) Start by washing the artichokes and cutting off the stems.
2) Using a sharp knife, cut each choke in quarters. If the inside looks fibrous cut it out.

3) Place your quarter chokes in a pan with a steamer and water. You can squeeze some lemon juice on the chokes to keep them from turning brown.

4) Cover the pan and bring the water to a boil, turn it down to medium, be sure to check that the water does not run dry under the steamer during the cooking!!

5) Cook for 20 to 30 minutes depending on the size and number of your chokes. They are done when a fork easily pierces the base or heart of the choke.

6) While they are cooking you can make the marinade, if you have a favorite salad dressing you can use that instead.

7) Chop 2 cloves of garlic and 1/4 cup fresh herbs (or use 2 tablespoons of dried herbs).
I use oregano, thyme, a small amount of rosemary, parsley...place in a small bowl.

8) Add a 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar and mix together.

9) Slowly add 2/3 cup olive oil.

10) When the artichokes are done, place them in a shallow bowl or decorative pie pan.
      Drizzle with the marinade and let stand for an hour or refrigerate until time to serve.
      This is a great way to take artichokes to a party !!

Strawberry Tart, another way to go...

As a challenge, I decided to make a fresh strawberry tart for a gathering that needed to be vegan and gluten free.
It was actually very easy. I found a simple crust by googling "vegan gluten free tart crust", then, of course, made my own changes. And I did have to chuckle when the food blogger whose recipe I was using said it was "almost vegan" since she used butter ;-)

Tart crust

Ingredients

11/2 cup almond meal
1/2 cup oat  flour or any other gluten free flour
2 tablespoons brown sugar
4 tablespoons melted earth balance

1) Preheat the oven to 350 F. Mix dry ingredients together in a large bowl.

2) Add melted Earth Balance.
3) Mix together to moisten all the ingredients.

4) Dump the crumbly mixture into a tart pan with a removable bottom.
    Gently spread the mixture evenly in the pan.

5) Pat into tart pan with the bottom of a measuring cup, starting at the center and working toward the edges.

6) Cover with the crust with foil  and set on a baking sheet.
     Bake for 20 minutes, uncover and bake 10 more minutes.
7) Allow to cool before filling.

Strawberry Filling ( you can also just use 1 cup of strawberry jam)
Ingredients

1 cup chopped strawberries
1/3 cup sugar
1 juice of lemon
 2 cups of strawberries for the top

1) Remove the stems and cut up strawberries to measure 1 cup.
2) Place in small saucepan with the sugar and lemon juice.

3) Cook over medium low until soft. Set aside to chill.

To assemble the tart
1) The crust and the filling must be cool.
2) Spread the filling over the bottom of the tart.

3) I like to cut the strawberries as I place them on the tart, use any pattern or design that suits you and your berries.

 4) Chill for a couple of hours. Serve with something dairy free for your vegans or creme fraiche, sour cream or whipped cream.

This dessert will make your friends very happy !!

Great Hamburgers

With Memorial Day past, it is officially summer even though the Solstice is not until June 22.
Time fro grillin' and chillin' ;-)

I have not been a big fan of hamburgers most of my life. I didn't grow up eating at fast food places and when given a choice as a kid I always picked the hot dogs...
Thus I have not cooked them often...

That being said, I had a craving the other day for a burger and we are lucky enough to have an amazing local butcher just down the street: el Salchichero. I bought a pound of their grass fed ground beef and went about creating my perfect burger.

I did a bit of research here are some random stuff I found:
1) When making the patties don't massage them too much, they are not modeling clay.
2) Don't make them too thick.

3) Make a thumbprint in the center of each one for a reason I don't remember...
4) Make sure the grill is very hot when you cook them.

5) Don't turn them over more than once.
6) Don't flatten them with your spatula.
7) Cook them 5-6 minutes a side depending on the thickness.
8) Let them rest for 5 minutes before eating them, that's hard !!

Here's what I like:
1) Lots of caramelized onions.

2) Whole wheat but still soft buns, lightly toasted...sounds dirty ;-)

3) Goat cheese, this "four peppers" variety was very tasty. Put a slice on each burger after you have flipped it once so that it soften and warms slightly. I find cheddar and other hard cheeses to be too greasy when melted.

4) I prefer my burger without a lot of ketchup, mayo or mustard. They get soggy with too many condiments.

5) And I prefer my greens in a large pile separately.

I enjoyed this burger so much, I know I will be having it again this summer.
It's such an easy weekend meal !!