Panzanella

I have a hard time thinking a meal is complete without bread. So to make bread an integral part of the main course? Perfection.

This panzanella, or Italian bread salad, was an delicious way to showcase the fresh tomatoes from the CSA, as well as the milkweed pods we had picked up a week or so ago. The recipe originated in the Mark Bittman book, Mark Bittman's Kitchen Express: 404 inspired seasonal dishes you can make in 20 minutes or less, that I've been writing so much about. I decided to just go on memory for the components from last time. To substitute for capers, I used the milkweed pods, which are brined, but are larger and squishier than capers. The rest was a jumble of tomatoes, bread, basil, parsley, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar. While I'm sure I left out a few traditional parts, the result was delicious. Thank goodness for half-baguettes - any larger, and I would have just kept eating the bowl of salad until it was gone...

Impromptu fish and vegetable stew

Again inspired by Mark Bittman, I used a tomato and the peppers from the CSA box and the Japanese eggplant from our balcony garden in a quick fish stew. I call it a stew because of the accumulation of pan juices when it's cooking; it's a bit too wet to be called something else (a saute? A stir-fry? Definitely not.)

Since moving to Ontario, we've eaten a lot less fish than we did while in Vancouver. Out there, it was easy: wild salmon was relatively cheap and always available. Here, it's not so clear-cut. The wild salmon is exorbitantly expensive, and doesn't always look so fresh. Not to mention that there are all sorts of complicated rules for what fish you should buy, what you shouldn't buy, what is bad for the environment, what has too much mercury...I just can't keep up. To be completely "right" all the time would require carrying a list of the "good" and "bad" fishes around in your wallet - a list that changes all the time - and I already have enough jammed in there. Instead, I have 3 general rules for buying fish:

1) It is preferably on sale. I'm cheap, and I rationalize this by thinking they have enough to put on sale, so it's probably fresh and "in season," whatever that is in fish-world. This may be entirely wrong, but the "I'm cheap" part of the reason wins out.

2) It looks fresh. The people behind the fish counter at my local Loblaws are not the types who love letting you smell the fish, so I go on sight. Does it look mushy? Does it look like its been unfrozen more than once? If either are true, I walk on by.

3) It's wild. Yes, I realize farmed fish is sometimes (often?) on the "good" fish list. But ever since my friend M (who did his dissertation work on salmon and has his PhD in zoology) said that farmed salmon don't really look like normal salmon when they're alive, I prefer to buy wild fish.

Now, these rules probably violate all sorts of proper fish shopping behavior. I accept that; I don't paint myself as someone who is 100% correct in how to buy fish or produce, or anything, for that matter. These are just my quick-and-dirty rules, and they seem to work well for me: we haven't bought bad fish yet. (Except for some mussels...but that's a different story. My rules probably do not apply to shellfish.)

Fish and summer vegetable stew
serves 2 generously (with leftovers)

1 tbsp olive oil
2 large shallots
3 - 4 small peppers, in various colors
1/2 lb firm white fish
1 Japanese eggplant, sliced into 1/2 inch slices
1 large tomato, chopped
juice from half a lemon
1 - 2 tbsp chopped parsley
salt and pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in large saute pan. Cook shallots and peppers on medium until slightly softened. Meanwhile, dry the fish, sprinkle salt and pepper on each side. Once softened, push the vegetables to the side of the pan and add fish. Sear slightly on each side. Add chopped tomato and eggplant; mix everything together. The fish will start to fall apart; this is all right. Cover and cook until the tomatoes and eggplant are soft and the fish is cooked through, 3 - 4 minutes. (If the pan you're using does not have a cover, use a piece of tin foil.) Remove cover and add lemon juice and parsley. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with good bread to sop up the juices.

Notes: This is easily multiplied by adding more fish and/or vegetables - watch the size of the pan when adding volume. Nearly any summer vegetable will do, but adding tomatoes is important because of the moisture they release and the texture they add to the dish.

Warm Corn & Ham Salad

We started the week out with 6 ears of corn. I really like corn - but have never really been in a position to use this much all at once. The last few weeks I've simply frozen the bounty, but this week was inspired to use all of it.

Rather than just eat in on the cob - which isn't so good if the corn sits in the refrigerator for days and days - I cooked all 6 ears at the same time when we ate corn earlier in the week, and cut them off the cob for last night's dinner. Again, I turned to Mark Bittman for ideas. He has a recipe for a warm corn and ham salad that sounded tasty, especially since P and I found a really good ham in the deli section of the local Loblaw's. This ham tastes like what you'd make at home - but without having to buy a whole ham.

For those who envision a mayonnaise-laden salad when hearing "ham salad," this is far from that. It's simply some onion and ham sauteed in a pan until browned (I added a jalapeno from the balcony garden), with some corn and frozen soy beans added to heat through. The dish is then finished with a bit of wine vinegar, parsley, and salt and pepper. Bittman originally called for lima beans, but since neither P nor I like them, we used soy beans; the only white wine vinegar I had on hand was champagne vinegar, which worked fine. This was a great way to use the corn and onion from the box, as well as one more jalapeno from the garden. It was equally delicious for lunch today.

As an accompaniment, P made onion rings with our new deep fryer. Though his recipe is still being perfected, I think freshly-made onion rings are probably more delicious than most you'll get in a restaurant - there's that fresh-from-the-fryer taste that is hard to get when moving the onions from the kitchen out to a restaurant table.

German potato salad

The presence of the red potatoes in the CSA share this week was just asking for me to make a German potato salad. I first fell upon the recipe in high school, I believe, excited that it didn't include mayonnaise - at the time, I didn't like it. (Honestly, I've only recently come to appreciate its charms.) And a potato salad recipe with bacon? How can that be wrong?

Now, I'm not even going to pretend that this recipe is better for you because it doesn't have mayo. However, as you may have noticed across the stories on this blog, I don't much care if something is "better" for you. Just delicious.

We had our friend Craig (whose very good blog is here) over for dinner on Thursday night. Slow-cooked barbecue ribs; potato salad, and corn bread. No green salad; sorry, folks, but some meals just don't demand them. For dessert? Blueberry slump - I had to at least show someone in person how delicious this odd-looking (and sounding) dessert really is.

I had also made Mark Bittman's pea dip the night before, thinking it would be a nice starter while I finished making dinner. Dinner was ready just as Craig arrived, though, but it was no big loss...the pea dip was just okay. Imagine mushed up peas with a hint of cheese, some chunks of pine nuts, and not much other flavor. If you're a pea-lover, go for it, but for now it's sitting in a bowl in our fridge, waiting to go bad enough for me to throw out.

In any case, the rest of the meal was delicious, and I converted Craig to the religion of blueberry slump. Here's the recipe for the potato salad:

German potato salad
adapted from New Best Recipe

2 pounds small to medium red potatoes (1 to 2 inches in diameter), scrubbed and halved if small, or quartered if medium)
Salt
6 ounces (about 6 slices) bacon, cut crosswise into 1/2 inch pieces
1 small onion, chopped fine (about 1 cup of onion)
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 cup white vinegar
1 tbsp whole grain mustard (German-style is good, but Dijon mustard is fine)
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves

Place potatoes, 1 tbsp salt, and water to cover in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to medium and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. Reserve 1/2 cup of potato cooking water, then drain the potatoes. But the potatoes back in the pot to keep warm.

As the potatoes are cooking, fry the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until browned and crisp. Transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate, reserving 1/4 cup of the bacon grease in the pan. Add the onion to the skillet; cook until softened and beginning to brown. Stir in sugar until dissolved; add vinegar and potato cooking water; bring to simmer and cook until the mixture is reduced to a cup.

Remove the skillet from the heat; whisk in the mustard and pepper. Add the potatoes, parsley, and bacon to skillet, and toss to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve while still warm.

Cabbage and carrot slaw

I'm realizing now that tomorrow is Monday, and I've done a pretty bad job of using our veggies this week. What's left? A handful of peas (they were in the bottom of a basket - I didn't find them until this weekend!), the kohlrabi, spinach, a head of lettuce, and most of the cucumber. And I'm not home for dinner tomorrow night. I foresee a giant salad for dinner in our near future...

Dinner tonight? Bratwurst, and some cole slaw I threw together based on a few recipes I checked out. The recipe is below. In retrospect, I could have used the raw kohlrabi in it, as well.

With dinner we also had some amazing onion bread from Patisserie Sebastien (3306 Yonge Street; their website doesn't seem to be operational, but here's a photo of the place). The outside was almost salty, and completely addictive; the onions, though dark, are simply sweet. The inside was perfectly chewy. I wish I'd had the forethought to photograph the chocolate and almond croissants we had from there earlier in the day, as well, because they were equally as amazing - crisp, buttery, light, and just enough chocolate and almond.

The bakery just opened recently, and their selection is limited, probably to accommodate for the smaller volume of customers as they start their business, and to ensure that everything is as fresh as can be. The small fruit tarts look delicious, as do the rest of their assorted pastries and breads. Anyone in the area should definitely check this place out. I know we'll go back for a cup of tea and to sample their other pastries!

Alexa's Cole Slaw
serves 2 (generously; multiply as desired)

1/4 of a small green cabbage, grated
1 medium carrot, grated (approximately the same quantity as cabbage)
1/4 cup green onions, chopped
1 Tbsp Italian parsley
1 heaping Tbsp sour cream
1 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp mayonnaise
2 tsp cider vinegar (or to taste - this thins out the mixture)
big pinch of salt
a few grinds of fresh black pepper

Mix the cabbage, carrot, and green onion in a small bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients. Taste the mixture; add ingredients as needed. Add to vegetable mixture immediately before serving.