Tabbouleh with Watermelon

I always thought of tabbouleh, also spelled tabouli, as a Palestinian meze.  You can find it on the streets of Jerusalem and Ramallah (as well as in Israel in both Israeli and Palestinian restaurants), but in fact tabbouleh's origins are in Lebanon and Syria (at least according to the Oxford Food & Nutrition Dictionary). The differences between the ubiquitous bulgur wheat salad in Lebanon and Syria is the proportions (or omissions) of several ingredients. But generally speaking, this salad contains parsley (the Lebanese use more), onion, mint, lemon, oil, and spices. Tomato is also traditionally used. The Turks have a similar dish called kisir and it contains tomato and pepper paste.  

This tabbouleh recipe in Martha Stewart Living caught my eye.  Here, "watermelon replaces the traditional tomato in this Middle Eastern salad, giving it bursts of sweetness. Goat cheese, another new add-in, provides creamy contrast." 

It's not difficult to make-- in fact it's very easy-- and it's a great summer side dish.  I would add a spritz of fresh lemon juice before serving, but that's pretty much it.  It's simple and not too ambitious.  Give this twist on tabbouleh a try! 

Tabbouleh with Watermelon (Courtesy of Martha Stewart Living)

Serves 4

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups water
Coarse salt
3/4 cup bulgur wheat
8 ounces watermelon (about 1/2 small), peeled and coarsely chopped (1 1/2 cups)
2/3 cup coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 scallions, thinly sliced on the bias
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest, plus 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 ounces soft goat cheese, crumbled
Directions
Bring water and 1/4 teaspoon salt to a boil in a medium saucepan. Stir in bulgur, and remove from heat. Let stand, covered, for 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork, and let stand, uncovered, until cooled, 15 to 30 minutes.
Transfer bulgur to a bowl, and toss with watermelon, parsley, scallions, oil, lemon zest and juice, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Gently fold in goat cheese.

Carrot-Ginger Soup

Hooray! Yippee! Hallelujah! The hottest summer on record (or maybe just to me because I was pregnant until two weeks ago) is having a respite from the oppressive heat.  Temperatures are in the low 80's today and that's cause for celebration.  No more 103 degree temps that had me sitting in the Red Hook kiddie pool, drinking my body weight in water and lemonade.  It was 74 degrees when I woke up today and you know what that means...I can (thankfully) turn on the stove and oven again.  It's cooking time!

So, we got a huge bunch of carrots in our CSA share this past weekend.  We also got gorgeous garlic bulbs.  You know, the kind of bulbs that still have dirt on the exterior and cloves that are wrapped in purplish-pink skin.  It's my kind of garlic.  And it's a beauty.  I have some left over stock and a piece of Hawaiian ginger that needs to be used as well.  That means it's time for Carrot-Ginger Soup.  

I'm not sure when I stumbled upon the combination of carrot and ginger.  But if I were guessing, I'd say it was probably in the form of salad dressing at a Japanese restaurant.  It's really a nice match.  I did a google search for a soup recipe and many were too simple or, on the flip side, too cumbersome and complex.  This one was simple enough but with turmeric, red pepper flakes and honey it had a nice twist.  I diverged from the original recipe-- using a little bit less stock and cream and I don't think the flavor was compromised at all.   When I make this again I may substitute coconut milk for the cream.   Just a thought.  Also, you can serve this soup hot or cold.  It's really tasty! 

Okay, I've got a million things to do related to our impending move to Colorado...but if I have an extra 25 minutes while Otis, Theo and Omar are napping, I'm going to watch the most recent episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm.  Is it just me, or is this the best season ever?!!? 

Carrot Ginger Soup (Adapted from Wolfgang Puck by Nick Kindelsperger for Serious Eats and modified only slightly by yours truly)
Serves 4

Ingredients
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 inch piece ginger, peeled and minced
1 tablespoon green onion, chopped
A generous pinch of red pepper flakes
1 1/2 pounds of carrots, peeled and thinly sliced (I used 10 carrots after googling 'How many carrots in a pound?'  The answer came up as 6-8 medium sized carrots or 4 very large carrots.)
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
3/4 tablespoon honey
Salt and pepper
3 1/2 cups vegetable or chicken stock  (Original recipe uses 4 cups of stock. I used less because I didn't want the puree to be too thin.)
1/4 cup heavy cream (Original recipe uses 1/2 cup)
2 tablespoons of unsalted butter

Directions

• Pour the oil into a large pot over medium heat. Add the garlic, minced ginger, green onions, and red pepper flakes. Stir occasionally and cook for a minute, or until very fragrant. Dump in the carrots, turmeric, honey, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring often. 
• Pour in the stock, cream, and butter. Bring to boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cook for 40 minutes or until the carrots are very tender. 
• Blend the soup in a blender or with an immersion blender. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Ina's Slow-Cooked Scrambled Eggs with Green Herbs

I haven't posted an egg recipe in quite some time, so here's one that I really enjoyed.

This brunch is simple to make and uses up some of the fresh herbs I've been getting from my CSA and garden. I followed Ina's instructions and added the herbs off-heat. Next time, and there will be a next time, I may add a little bit of goat cheese. But even without the cheese, these eggs are delicious. Temperature is key -- these are slow cooked-- something far too many restaurants mess up. It takes a few minutes so don't rush. You'll be glad you took the time.

You can serve this with some fresh butter bread (toasted), but I served this with a salad using ingredients from our CSA including green lettuce, red leaf lettuce and a variety of heirloom tomatoes. It was delicious and a great way to start off the morning...

Slow-Cooked Scrambled Eggs with Green Herbs 

(Courtesy of Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa)

Serves 4

Ingredients

•   10 extra-large eggs

•   6 tablespoons whole milk or half-and-half

•   1 teaspoon kosher salt

•   1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

•   2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided

•   1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley leaves

•   1 tablespoon minced scallions, white and green parts

•   1 tablespoon minced fresh dill

Directions

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, salt, and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon of butter in a large saute or omelet pan. Add the eggs and cook them over low heat, folding them over almost constantly with a rubber spatula, until the desired doneness. Off the heat, add the remaining tablespoon of butter, the parsley, scallions, and dill. Stir until the butter is melted. Check for seasonings. Serve hot.

What's Been Cookin'? Sparrow No. 2 and a Lemon-Almond Cake

After waiting 41 plus weeks, our No. 2 finally arrived.  He was born on a very hot morning and weighed in at 8 lbs. 4 oz.  That's a big baby.  Um, really big.  We are thrilled about our newest addition (and growing family) but we have been very tired too.   Lucky for us we have GREAT friends.  Within a few hours of coming back from the hospital we had delicious food in the fridge.  There was a to-die-for chocolate tart with apricot preserve (I will post the recipe once it has been translated from Swedish), quinoa with kale, tomato quiche (recipe from this month's Bon Appetite), Blue Sky Bakery muffins, Coco Roco dinner (with a vegetarian platter included), chocolate and zucchini bread, Ample Hills ice cream, lemon-almond cake and bagels (etc.). I think you get the picture.  Not a bad way to start the day and I didn't lift a finger. 

Trust me when I tell you that one of the nicest things you can do for some who just gave birth is to bring over some food.

We are still collecting veggies from our CSA, so at some point I will bust out the pots and pans and get cooking...but until then I'm enjoying great food delivered by great people. 

Here is Nigella Lawson's recipe for Damp Lemon-Almond Cake. This is the first post (out of about 117) that I didn't actually cook/bake myself. Our friend Beth C. (who is a wonderful cook and expectant mother herself) brought this cake over...and now there isn't a crumb left! 

Damp Lemon-Almond Cake (Courtesy of Nigella Lawson, How To Be A Domestic Goddess, by way of Beth C.) 

Serves 6-8 

Ingredients

1 cup soft unsalted butter

3/4 cup sugar

4 large eggs

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/3 cup ground almonds

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

grated zest and juice of 2 lemons

8-inch springform pan, lined on the bottom with parchment or wax paper

Directions 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Cream together the butter and sugar until almost white.  Beat in the eggs, one at a time, adding a quarter of the flour after each addition.  When all the eggs and flour have been incorporated, gently stir in the ground almonds, then the almond extract, lemon zest, and juice.  Pour the mixture into the cake pan and bake for about 1 hour.  I say "about" only because ovens seem to vary so violently.  I've cooked this in one oven when it was finished after 50 minutes; in another when it needed 1 hour and 10 minutes.  Whichever, after about 30 minutes you many well find you have to cover it loosely with foil; you don't want the top of the cake to burn.  The cake is ready when the top is firm and a skewer, inserted,comes out cleanish: you want dampness, but no batery goo.  Take the cake out and let it stand for 5 minutes or so in the pan.  Then turn it out on a wire rack and leave till cool. 

Then, preferably, wrap well in tin foil and leave it for a couple of days.  Push some confectioners' sugar over the cake through a fine sieve or tea strainer when serving.  I can't stop myself from murmuring "raspberries" to you, either.

***

And here are some seasonal recipes (good for CSA/farmer market produce) that I previously posted on this blog (click on the hyper link title for the recipe):

Tagliatelle with Corn Pesto

Panzanella

Scalloped Tomatoes

Polenta with Corn and Thyme

And introducing the smallest sparrow...

We call him Theodore Benjamin. 

 Next up:  Carrot-Ginger Soup!

"Blaising" Ginger-Lime Baby Carrots

Richard Blais is the molecular gastronomist who was on Bravo's Top Chef.  You know, the one who always had to put everything in liquid nitrogen and tweak nature before presenting his dish.  His food always looked amazing.  Then again, he was the winner of Top Chef All Stars.  

Well the folks over at Food & Wine wanted to see if he could kick up it up a notch with a few summer vegetables-- but not too much and sans heavy equipment.   This is what he came up with...

When we got carrots in our CSA share my first thought was to simply pan fry them with a little bit of salt and pepper in some butter.  Then I thought about making a carrot ginger soup.  But after browsing through Food & Wine I thought this sounded more interesting than my other options.  I've always loved the combination of carrots and ginger-- but by adding lime and Sriracha I felt like I definitely kicked it up a notch!  

Here's a little FYI: Sriracha is a sauce that is made from sun ripened chilies which are then grounded with garlic and other seasonings.  The Huy Fong Sriracha is the most common sauce sold in the United States and it's everywhere.  The owner of Huy Fong is natively from Vietnam which is why I always thought the sauce was of Vietnamese origin.  But in fact Sriracha is from Thailand and named for the coastal city of Si Racha where it was first produced.  The traditional Thai sauce is a bit different from the commerically produced Vietnamese ones which are available here, but they use the same basic ingredients.  You can find Sriracha in most supermarkets.   Sorry, that's a long bit about a sauce that only adds 1/4 teaspoon to this recipe...but every now and again it's nice to have a new fun fact!

Anywho, this is a really nice and simple way to prepare baby carrots.  Bon Appetite! 

Ginger-Lime Baby Carrots (Courtesy of Richard Blais for Food & Wine Magazine) 

Serves 4

Ingredients

24 baby carrots, tops trimmed to 2 inches

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

Pinch of cinnamon

1/2 cup chicken stock (I used vegetable)

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

2 teaspoons fresh lime juice

1/4 teaspoon Sriracha

Salt

1 tablespoon furikake (see Note)

Directions

In a large saucepan of boiling salted water, cook the carrots until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Drain the carrots.

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil.  Add the carrots, ginger and cinnamon and cook over moderate heat, tossing occasionally, until the ginger is fragrant, about 3 minutes.  Add the chicken stock and boil over moderately high heat until reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and let cool for 30 seconds.  Swirl in the butter, lime juice and Sriracha and season with salt.  Arrange the carrots on a platter and spoon the ginger-lime sauce on top.  (Sprinkle with the furikake and serve.)

Note: Furikake is available at Asian markets and many specialty food stores.  It is a mixture of dried and ground fish, sesame seeds and chopped seaweed.  I added a a few sesame seeds instead of making a pilgrimage to a Japanese market.   I'll probably omit them next time I make this dish...