Summer corn risotto
August 27, 2012
Summer corn risotto
August 26, 2012
So this happened today on our walk to B & H.
Sweet Summer Sunshine – aka Tomato, Peach & Basil Salad with Chili
Sometimes I try to pretend that I don’t wait for this season all year long with varying degrees of patience. Some years, I’d like to think that it’s the corn I’m really after. The berries. Burgers on the grill. But who am I kidding? It’s tomatoes. Tomatoes are what I crave in the deep recesses of winter – tomatoes are what I pine for. Sweet, umami-laden globules of liquid sunshine.
This salad highlights their peak season glory perfectly – and lucky for me, I’m the only tomato worshipper in the house. It’s a dead simple thing to whip up for lunch – barely a recipe, really.
Sweet Summer Sunshine – aka Tomato, Peach & Basil Salad with Chili
Mixed heirloom tomatoes – a cup, cup and a half – thinly sliced
1 ripe peach, pitted and sliced thinly
1 tsp. thinly sliced basil ribbons
1 Tbsp. grapeseed oil
1 tsp. sambal oelek (hot garlic chili sauce – I use the brand with the white chicken – it should be located near the squeeze bottle sriracha with the same chicken and comes in a clear plastic jar with a green lid) – sub for Whole30 sriracha if going that route
Your favorite finishing salt – I used some grey sea salt, but I could see black or Maldon salt being fabulous here, or even citrus-infused kosher
Arrange your tomatoes on a plate. Scatter peaches about until you have something that looks exciting and alive. Sprinkle with basil.
In a small bowl, mix the grapeseed oil and sambal oelek. Beat with a fork to combine.
Drizzle oil mixture over salad. Sprinkle with salt to finish.
Serves 1 for lunch. Feel free to scale up to feed a crowd. If you are making for a party, prepare as close to go time as possible. This salad is best at room temperature (I would never suggest refrigerating fresh tomatoes as it kills some of their taste) or even a little above.
Update: After writing this, my DH came home from work not hungry in the slightest for dinner. I ate this salad again for dinner beefed up with slivers of fennel, crumbles of feta and citrus salt. Yum. I might just have to hit the greenmarket this weekend so I can try a version with rosemary-infused olive oil, smoky cheese and orange….
August 25, 2012
*nerd squee* I was lucky enough to score two tickets to the Dr. Who season 7 US premiere and Q & A session. Needless to say, the episode was fantabulous. The Q & A helmed by Chris Hardwick: also awesome.
August 24, 2012
Rambled and rambled and found Green Wood Cemetery (unfortunately after gates-closed).
August 23, 2012
This is the Cheshire Cat from one of my favorite games (visually speaking – I hit the tongue level and gave up), American McGee’s Alice. I won’t go near the long-awaited sequel because Alice looks wrong (ok, if I’m honest, she looked wrong in the first version but I loved the art design so much I was willing to ignore it), but I love this version. Dark, creepy, mangy, Tim Burton-y.
August 22, 2012
Finally got around to making sausage. Mmmmm.
August 21, 2012
Ground Cherries
This is a new one for me. Hadn’t even heard of a ground cherry until this week’s CSA pickup. According to Wikipedia, the ground cherry (aka Cape Gooseberry) belongs to the physalis, a genus of plants in the nightshade family native to warm temperate and subtropical regions. This small orangey fruit looks like a tiny tomato encased in a papery husk and is similar in texture to the larger fruit.
The taste ranges from sweet and tart to savory, almost musky (at least this batch). The fruit is also full of pectin and makes a great addition to jams and jellies. I doubt severely any of this batch will get much more treatment than peeling and popping.
August 20, 2012
New toy and what does my little guy go after first? The dinosaur’s bumps. Not the eyes, not the legs; the skin bumps.
What did I ever do without him?
August 19, 2012
Lady Liberty from Governor’s Island.
Gastography 