SERIOUS SUMMER SALADS

                                        Serious summer salads

           The summer solstice approaches on Sunday, May 21^st. Interestingly the date for this varies from year to year because our human yearly calendar is set for 365 days but it takes the earth 365.25 days to orbit the sun completely.  So, humans have to adjust.

          The cook wisely adjusts seasonal menus to reflect not only available produce but also to look toward our lighter and cooler tastes with colorful eye appeal. We savor green and crunchy salads not only for lunch but also sometimes for dinner, which require additional tasty combinations of greens with vegetables and seafood or meat. 

                                      Shrimp salad on artichoke bottoms

          In a small bowl mix the dressing: ½ cup sour cream, juice and grated zest of ½ lemon, 1 tsp. Dijon mustard, 2 tbsp. chopped dill 1 tbsp. chopped capers, ¼ tsp. lemon pepper and ½ tsp. salt.

          Thaw ½ - ¾ lb. medium cooked shrimp, cut in half and remove tail cartilage. Place in a medium bowl, add 1 finely chopped shallot and 1 finely chopped stalk of celery. Thoroughly mix in the dressing and chill for at least one hour. Serve on arugula and drained canned artichoke bottoms. On the side add sliced seedless cucumber and radish salad tossed with seasoned rice vinegar, crisp chilled dilly beans and crusty bread, fitting for a steamy day lunch or light supper.

                                      Provençal beef and potato salad

          This recipe has an old and interesting history in my kitchen. The legendary Commissary restaurant in center city Philadelphia served this outstanding salad to our enjoyment many years ago and shortly after, “Gourmet” magazine responded to other readers request for it. Both the restaurant and “Gourmet” are no longer in existence, but the recipe still survives only slightly modified in my kitchen with delicious results. It requires a bit of advance planning but is most certainly worth the effort. This recipe is for 4 generous servings.

          Prepare the dressing by combining in a blender: 2/3 cup vegetable oil, ¼ cup white distilled vinegar, 2 tbsp. chopped dill or parsley, 1 tsp salt, ½ tsp. sugar, ½ tsp. pepper, 2 chopped garlic cloves and 2 tsp. anchovy paste.

          Scrub and cook 1 and ½ lb. of new potatoes in salted water for 15-16 minutes until just tender. Drain, cut in about 1-inch pieces and toss with the dressing while hot. Refrigerate for 3 hours minimum or overnight.

          In a large bowl mix in the potatoes: 2 cups of bite size cubed, cold grilled steak or roast beef, 12 halved cherry tomatoes, 4 tbsp. chopped capers, 4 tbsp. chopped dill or parsley, ¼ cup halved pitted Kalamata olives and salt and pepper to taste. Serve on romaine lettuce sprinkled with chopped dill or parsley.

          It is still strawberry season, so I could not resist making a strawberry-rhubarb pie. The combination of the seasons first fruits makes such a delicious sweet-tart dessert.

                                          Strawberry-rhubarb pie  

          Wash, trim and cut fresh juicy rhubarb into 1-inch pieces to make 2 cups. Hull fresh strawberries and cut in half to make 2 cups of strawberries. Blend together in a small bowl 1 and ¼ - ½ cups of sugar with 3 tbsp. cornstarch.

          Line a 9-inch pie plate with 1 sheet of prepared pie crust from the Deli department in your store, fitting the crust to the bottom of the plate. Spread ¼ of the sugar mix on top. Toss the fruit with the rest of the sugar mix and turn into the prepared pie plate. Spread out evenly, dot with 1 tbs. butter and fit the top crust over, pinching the rim to seal. Cut vents on top, brush lightly with heavy cream and sprinkle with nutmeg.

          Bake in a preheated oven at 450 degrees for 15 minutes then decrease the temperature to 350 degrees. To prevent dripping place a piece of aluminum foil on the rack below the pie at this point and bake for an additional 30-35 minutes until the filling can be seen bubbling through the vents. Cool to lukewarm or room temperature to serve and enjoy.

 (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)

 

 

 

CHICKEN TO THE RESCUE

 

                                     Chicken to the rescue

          June is a busy month and arrives waving its flag-on-Flag Day, the 14^th day of this Semiquincentennital year for USA. In addition, we have Juneteenth, Father’s Day and the Summer Solstice not even counting all the graduations and weddings clustered in this thirty-day period. While parties and gatherings all involve food, the home cook can be overwhelmed with such preparations and is likely to look for quick shortcuts to come up with tasty and satisfying regular meals.

          At times like this the home cook loves roast chicken as a staple not only for a delicious dinner, but also as source for tasty ready-cooked meat for additional meals. One of the benefits of our modern food purveyor system is the ready availability of Rotisserie chicken at our supermarkets which comes as a time saving boon for the cook. After the initial meal of roast chicken, there are limitless delicious possibilities for the remaining chicken meat and even the rest of the carcass for soup.

                                        Lemony creamed chicken

          Heat 1 tbsp. olive oil and 1 tbsp butter in a large pan and sauté 2 cups cut up mushrooms with 2 sliced shallots and 1tsp. salt for 5 minutes. Stir in 1and ½ tbsp. flour and when incorporated, stir in 1 and ½ cup chicken broth and juice of ½ lemon. Cook on low heat to make a smooth sauce for about 2 minutes. Stir in 2-3 cups bite sized leftover roast chicken for 2-3 minutes to heat thoroughly then stir in ½ cup half and half and heat without boiling. Serve hot on rice, pasta or toast with a green salad.

 

                                                 Tangy Chicken salad

          Prepare the dressing by mixing thoroughly: ¼ cup sour cream, 1-2 tsp. white wine vinegar, ½ tsp. lemon pepper, ¼ tsp. celery seed, 1/3 tsp. dry mustard, 1/3 tsp. onion powder and ½ tsp. salt.

Salad: coarsely chop 3 cups of leftover roast chicken, 1 chopped stalk of celery, ¼ cup chopped dill cucumber pickles, 1 tbsp finely chopped onion and 1 chopped hard-boiled egg. Thoroughly mix the salad with the dressing and serve on lettuce.

                                                   Spring vegetable soup

          Sauté 1 large, chopped onion in 1 tbsp. olive oil for 5 minutes in a 3-4 qt. pot.  Add leftover bones from 2 roast chickens (one previously saved frozen), 4 cups water, 2 tbsp. tomato paste, 1 bay leaf, 1 tsp. salt, 4 cloves, ½ tsp. lemon pepper 1 tsp., thyme, 2 large carrots and 2 stalks celery halved. Add additional water to cover all solids, bring to boil, lower temperature to simmer and cover to cook for 1 hour and 30 minutes.

          Remove carrots to set aside, strain the liquid through a sieve and return to the pot. Cut the carrots in bite size and return to the pot. Add ½ cup Ditalini pasta, 2/3 cups frozen string beans, 1 cup frozen peas and cook for 8 minutes, add ½ cup frozen corn and cook for additional 2 minutes. Stir in 1 tbsp. pesto and serve hot with crusty bread.

          As the 13^th century old English song states with some translation: “Summer is icumen in, Loudly sing, Cuckoo!”

     (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)

 

 

CELEBRATING SPRING

 

                                            Celebrating spring

           The past weekend warmth finally came to Maine after the much-needed rains. Our gardens have been reluctantly yielding spring flowers until now and blooming fruit trees have been cautious to unfurl their leaf and flower buds in the past weeks, intimidated by cold and cloudy nights and even days. So, over the weekend, hungry bees converged on the partly opening crabapple buds outside my kitchen window. Not willing to wait for nature, some of them were actually prying open the more open buds to find the coveted pollen. Hunger is a great motivator after a long winter.  

          Inspired by nature this cook improvised Saturday breakfast with chive and cheese scrambled eggs leading to colorful tasty results; all served in Pita bread. Pita bread originated in the Mediterranean region and is a wonderful vehicle for sandwiches, lamb, Falafel, hearty salads and even scrambled eggs.

                                              Breakfast Pita bread

          You will need a halved regular Pita bread per person (reduced calorie Pita won’t hold the filling) and double that amount for people with hearty appetites. For each half of Pita bread: scramble 2 large eggs with a splash of milk, salt and pepper and a dash of Tabasco (optional). Spread in a heated pan with melted butter, sprinkle with a tablespoon of chopped chives and partway through cooking sprinkle with a handful of shredded cheddar or Feta and finish scrambling till cooked. Serve in heated Pita halves and garnish with grape tomatoes.

                                      Baked Italian sausage-Ziti Rigati

          Baked pasta dishes are easy and filling for those cooler days even in summer and Ziti Rigati (hallow tubes) are smaller than Rigatoni and adapt well to different sauces.

          Heat 1 tbsp. oil in a skillet and sauté 6 oz. crumbled Italian sausage (mild or hot), 1 chopped medium onion and 4 oz. sliced mushrooms for 5 minutes, stir in 3 chopped garlic cloves for another minute. Add ½ cup white wine, 1tsp. salt, 1/3 tsp. pepper, 2 tsp. thyme,1/2 tsp. sugar, ½ tsp. Dijon mustard and cook for 2 minutes.

Cook pasta in salted boiling water and drain, saving 1 cup of boiling water. Toss pasta with ½ cup Parmesan and 1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese.

Add ½ to ¾ cups pasta water to meat sauce and mix with the pasta.

Coat 8x8x2 baking dish with a nonstick baking spray, spread sauced pasta evenly in the dish, sprinkle with an additional ½ cup Mozzarella and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Serve hot with a salad.

To many, rhubarb with its bright color and tart taste, personifies spring in the kitchen. It is often paired with strawberries but is wonderful by itself when baked in a coffee cake.

                                                    Rhubarb-ginger coffee cake

Sift together 2 cups flour, 1 tsp. baking soda, ¼ tsp. salt in a small bowl. In a large bowl beat together ½ cup soft butter with 1 and ½ cups brown sugar. Beat in 1 tsp. orange flavoring, 1 tsp. vanilla, ½ tsp. nutmeg, 1 egg and 1 tsp. fresh grated ginger. Add the flour mixture alternating with 1 cup milk to the butter sugar mix until well blended, starting and ending with flour. Fold in 2 ½ cups rhubarb cut in 1-inch pieces and dusted with 1 tbsp. flour. Pour mixture in a 7x11 inch baking dish coated with baking spray. Sprinkle on top with a mixture of 1/3 cup sugar, 3 tbsp. chopped walnuts and 1 tsp. cinnamon.

Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes until the cake tests done by a toothpick coming out dry from the center. Cool, slice in rectangles for serving and enjoy.                           

          (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)