IT IS TIME FOR CORN

 

                                                 It is time for corn

 

          “The corn is as high as the elephants eye,” sings the hero of Oklahoma by Rogers and Hammerstein in my mind, as I see the baskets brimming with corn in farmers markets and grocery stores. Our steamy mid-August also reminds me of driving through the Mid-West many summers ago in South Dakota where the two-lane highway passed for miles through stands of such corn fields as far as the eye could see.

          Corn was developed by selective breeding of a grass teosinte in Mexico some 9,000 years ago to give us those plump white or yellow kernels that we enjoy each summer. Sweet corn as we know it, is a more recent introduction by selective breeding.  Before 1980 you had to have a boiling pot on the stove, run out to the cornfield to pick a few ears and quickly boil them to retain sweetness, in order to quickly stop the immediate conversion of sugar to starch when picked. Today sweet corn has a more extended shelf life, though fresh is still really the best.

          Corn on the cob is the easiest side dish for most August meals, and grilled corn features in salads and makes an interesting vegetable mélange with sautéed zucchini and peppers. Mexican street corn has caught recent attention, as a simple but tasty corn dish that is amenable to many variations with satisfying results. The following recipe was inspired and adapted from a recent issue of Bon Appetit.

                                              Street corn with pork

          The two less common ingredients in this recipe are Kewpie mayonnaise (creamy flavored Japanese mayonnaise) and Cotija cheese (salty crumbly Mexican cheese similar but less tart than Feta). Both items are available in local supermarkets but may be substituted by regular mayonnaise and Feta.

          Slice 2 center cut pork chops across the grain on diagonal in ¼ inch or less slices. Mix thoroughly with 1 tbsp. Kewpie mayonnaise, ½ tsp. kosher salt and ½ tsp. paprika (use ½ tsp. chili powder for spicier version).

Cut kernels from 4 ears of husked corn. In a large pan heat 2 tbsp. vegetable oil to hot but not smoking and stir in the corn with 1 tsp. canned chopped jalapeno pepper. Fry corn for 4 minutes stirring a few times until some of the corn is slightly charred. Transfer to a large bowl.

Wipe out the pan, add 1 tbsp. vegetable oil and fry the pork in a single layer on hot for 2 minutes, turning once. Add pork to the corn and stir in ½ tsp. kosher salt, 2-3 tbsp. lime juice, 2 tbsp. grated Cotija cheese. Toss all ingredients together. Top with 1 tbsp. Cotija cheese and garnish with parsley (or cilantro) and lime. Serve with additional Cotija and lime if desired and cool cucumber salad.

                                               Dilly cucumber salad

          Thinly slice a seedless long English cucumber or several young pickling cucumbers. Toss with ½ tsp. salt, 1-2 tbsp. chopped dill and 1-2 tbsp. chopped chives. Stir in 2 tbsp. sour cream and 1 tbsp. white wine vinegar. Adjust salt and pepper to taste and serve.

          Creamy puddings or ice cream topped with fruit are easy summer deserts, however plain Greek yoghurt easily substitutes for such and makes a less caloric but equally colorful and tasty desert. 

                                 Yoghurt with blueberry syrup and raspberries

          Blueberry syrup: bring 1and ½ cups blueberries, ½ cup water,1 cup sugar, and 1 tbsp. lemon juice to boil, simmer for 5 minutes, stir in ½ tsp. lemon zest and cool.

          Spoon creamy plain Greek yogurt in a dish, top with 1-2 tblsp. blueberry syrup, dot with raspberries and enjoy.

          “August brings the sheaves of corn Then the harvest home is borne….” to quote Sara Coleridge (1802-1852).

    (I. Winicov Harrington lives in coastal Maine and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day…”and “Uncharted Journey from Riga”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)

 

 

VERSATILE BASIL

                                                         Versatile Basil

 

          Fresh basil is one of summer’s great gifts to the cook. It’s bright green color and flavor add a special dash to food in both cooking and presentation and because the flavor significantly diminishes when preserved by drying or cooking, we cherish their fresh flavor in summer.

          Basil comes in many different varieties of leaf shape and colors from the familiar Italian Genovese cooking green to reddish purple, each with a different subtle additional flavoring such cinnamon or citrus of Lemon basil. The plant has a 5000-year history in India and general South Eastern Asia.

It’s most famous culinary product is pesto, a pounded mixture of basil, pine nuts, lemon, garlic and Parmesan cheese used for enhancing the flavor of many soups, pasta, tomatoes and even fish or chicken. In past, pesto was the ‘auditioning’ preparation with which new chefs were admitted to famous restaurant kitchens by pounding all those ingredients in a mortar and pestle in record time. Fortunately, modern blenders have made this preparation more accessible to everyone else.

          Fresh basil leaves brighten up our summer tomato caprese salads with mozzarella or burrata, Kalamata olives and balsamic dressing. Basil can be tucked in bacon-lettuce sandwiches with surprisingly flavorful results, and add a summer flavor to pasta, chicken, fish and bean or lentil salads. Fortunately, it is easy to grow in a pot on a porch or even a front step, which gives the cook continued fresh supply throughout the summer.  

                                         Buttery-lemon-basil pasta

          Cook 8 oz. Cavatappi (short corkscrews) pasta in boiling water for 9 minutes.

While pasta is boiling, melt 1/3 cup of butter in a large pan on low heat. Carefully stir in 1 cup salt water from the pasta and cook to slightly reduced volume. Remove pasta after 9 minutes with a slotted spoon directly into the butter mixture and stir to coat.

          Add ½ cup packed torn basil leaves, 1 ½ tbsp. fresh lemon juice and 1 tsp. grated lemon rind. Stir and cook 3-4 minutes more until sauce is somewhat thickened and coats the pasta. Remove from heat and stir in ½ cup Parmesan cheese and 10 small thin slices of Genoa salami cut in thick strips. Serve garnished with additional basil leaves and black sesame seeds.

          Panzanella or Italian bread salad goes back to Middle Ages when peasants used to reconstitute old, dried bread with flavored olive oil and vinegar using purslane as a flavoring tart green in the salad. Purslane has an unfortunate look alike in spurge which will give you a very upset stomach. Once tomatoes arrived from America, they became the more reliable ingredient in Panzanella and have become an essential safe substitute ingredient for this dish.

                                          Panzanella-Tuscan bread salad

          Balsamic dressing: 3 tbsp. balsamic vinegar, 1 tbsp red wine vinegar, 1 tsp. Dijon mustard, 1 tsp. kosher salt, ¼ tsp. pepper, small pinch of sugar and 4-5 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil.

          In a large bowl assemble 4 cups cubed sourdough or Cibatta bread, a day or more old. Add 1 ½ cups halved cherry tomatoes, 1 cup torn basil leaves, ½ cup red onion thin sliced, ½ cup seeded thin sliced red pepper, and ½ cup seeded thin sliced green pepper. Toss all with ½ tsp salt and the dressing. Allow flavors to blend for at least an hour and serve as a side to grilled meat, sausage or fish, garnished with additional basil. For a vegetarian meal serve with deviled eggs.

          Do not refrigerate cut basil. Basil is best kept at room temperature in water, replenishing the water every day. In fact, basil kept that way will often sprout roots, which then can be planted in a pot with soil and will keep you in basil for a good part of the winter when placed on a sunny windowsill.

(I. Winicov Harrington lives in coastal Maine and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day…”and “Uncharted Journey from Riga”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)

 

 

 

SAVORING OUR LEISURELY JULY

 

                                    Savoring our leisurely July

           July, the name and the month, invoke leisurely feelings each year. After all the excitement and activities for the 4^th of July, we are left with the rest for summer days for simple enjoyment. Agrarian times saw this as the restful hiatus between urgency of spring planting and fall harvest, our modern-day culture finds the brief welcome hiatus in financial stress as the old fiscal year ends, our education system pauses before the August scramble for the new year, and we savor our vacations weather in travel or at home.

          The languor of steamy days induces the cook to search for simple and easy meals with minimum of cooking but without loss of taste and eye appeal. The following recipes are likely to keep you cool and satisfied. Most of us are familiar with gazpacho, really a liquid salad, the wonderful cold tomato and raw vegetable soup from Spain and Portugal.  A similar liquid salad can be found in Northern Europe with buttermilk or yoghurt as a base which has appeared in this column as “Summer shape up soup” which requires a zucchini and potato cooked purée as a base. The following cool recipe is slightly creamy with no cooking at all!

                                              No-cook white gazpacho

          In a large bowl slowly whisk together 2 ½ cups thick creamy plain yoghurt (do not use low fat) and 1 cup chicken broth or vegetable broth for vegetarians. Whisk in ½ tsp. garlic powder, 1 tsp. celery salt, ½ tsp. white pepper and 1 tsp. ground thyme.

          Add: 1 diced stalk of celery, ½ cup diced seedless cucumber, ½ cup diced zucchini, 2 thinly sliced scallions with greens, 14 halved grape tomatoes, ½ seeded diced red pepper and ½ cup slivered almonds (optional). Stir in 1 tblsp. distilled white vinegar, adjust salt and pepper to taste and refrigerate for 2 hours for flavors to blend. Serve garnished with parsley or dill.

          Steak sandwiches and Stir Frys are summer staples for quick meals. The Korean Bulgogi combines the two by wrapping the cooked beef in a lettuce leaf or in the recipe below, serving it with rice.

                                               Korean beef Bulgogi

          Slice 1 lb. ribeye or top sirloin steak at a 45-degree angle as thin as possible. You can substitute shaved ribeye from the store, but it will tend to keep less moist when cooked.

          Marinade: ¼ cup light soy sauce, 2 tbsp. (not packed) brown sugar, 1 tbsp. toasted sesame oil, grated 2 large garlic cloves and 1 tsp. grated fresh ginger. Toss meat with the marinade in a plastic bag and refrigerate for 2-3 hours.

          Drain excess marinade, heat 2 tsp. vegetable oil in a large pan and spread ½ of the meat single layer to fry 2-3 minutes, turning once till meat is charred in places. Set aside and repeat with the other ½ of the meat. Serve with cooked rice and kimchi or steamed broccoli. Serve sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds and thin sliced scallion. This dish may also be served in a soft roll with Kiwi (Japanese) mayonnaise as a variation on the steak sandwich roll.

          Peaches abound at this time in markets for easy and delicious fruit crisps. This recipe is for a gluten free version, but substituting regular flour for almond flour will make an equally tasty dish.

                                                   GF Peach almond crisp

          Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl mix: 2-3 tbsp. sugar, 2 tbsp. corn starch, pinch of salt and ¼ tsp. cinnamon. In a medium bowl mix: 1 cup fine almond flour, ½ cup packed brown sugar, ¼ tsp. cinnamon, 1/8 tsp. nutmeg, ¼ tsp. salt. Cut in 4 tbsp. cold butter in the flour mix thoroughly with a pastry cutter or two knives.

          Pit and slice 5 large peaches in an 8x8x2 baking dish.  Grate peel of ½ lemon on top and 1 tsp. fresh ginger. Toss with sugar and cornstarch mix and squeeze the juice of ½ lemon on top. Sprinkle with ½ cup slivered or sliced almonds and spread the crumble mix across the top evenly. Bake 45-50 minutes at 375 degrees and serve warm or at room temperature with a dab of ice cream.

          Let us savor the mystical dances of fireflies as dusk settles on our leisurely July days.

      (I. Winicov Harrington lives in coastal Maine and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day…”and “Uncharted Journey from Riga”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)