Chipotle Grilled Tofu and Yucatecan Street Corn

So, it's Memorial Day Weekend, and everyone is out grilling; and grilling lots of meat. What's a vegetarian to do? Opt for the frozen, bland veggie burgers? Nope. Here are two very tasty hot-weather grilling ideas: a spicy grilled tofu that is great either as kabobs or a burger alternative, and rich grilled corn on the cob. I made the grilled tofu last weekend while out camping, and found that marinating for 24 hours really got the spicy tones heated up (read - scorching). But, I imagine that just an hour is a perfect amount of time to get the heat without the burn. The original recipe calls for achiote powder, rather than chipotle, but I was not able to find the former. If you can, give it a try. Both of these recipes come from Heidi Swanson, whose food blog, 101 cookbooks is amazing and inspiring. Equally beautiful is her book, Super Natural Cooking, which I have been scouring the last few weeks.

Chipotle Grilled Tofu

2 tablespoons achiote or chipotle powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon raw cane sugar (or brown sugar)
3 medium cloves garlic, peeled
2 big pinches of salt
1/3 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
12 ounce package of extra firm tofu, cut into 4 slabs

Whisk together achiote powder, cayenne pepper and sugar. Sprinkle the salt over the garlic, smash it with your knife, and mince it into a paste. Add this to the achiote mixture along with the lemon juice. Whisk until combined.

Place the tofu into an 8x8 baking dish and pour the achiote marinade over the tofu - flip it, flop it....make sure you get coverage on all sides, and rub the marinade into the tofu a bit. Place in the refrigerator for at least one hour.

Place the tofu on a medium hot grill. Brush the top of each piece of tofu with some of the leftover achiote marinade, grill until the tofu is golden on the bottom with nice grill marks (rotate the tofu 90 degrees halfway through the grilling of each side to get those nice marks). Flip, cook the other side, brush the side facing up with more leftover marinade, and cook until the bottom is golden as well. Remove and serve over a salad, on a bun with all the fixings, or any other way you can think of .

Yucatecan Street Corn

4 ears fresh corn, in husks
3/4 cup crema, for slathering
1/2 cup shredded cotija, for sprinkling
2 limes, halved
2 tablespoons pure chile powder
fine-grain sea salt (optional)

Prepare a medium - hot grill; if the temperature is right, you should be able to hold your hand a few inches above the grate for 4 or 5 seconds. To prepare the corn for gilling, remove any husks other than the inner one or two layers. Peel back the inner husks but keep them attached, and discard the silk. Pull the husks back into place to protect the kernels and grill, covered, rotating a couple of times along the way, for 10 minutes. Peel back the husk on one ear and taste for doneness before pulling the rest off the grill. Slather each with some of the crema, sprinkle with some of the cheese, and drizzle with the juice of half of a lime dipped in chile powder.

Ginger Cheesecake

While it may not be healthy, cheesecake certainly is vegetarian. I made this recipe just this week for a farewell gathering of graduate students. It is a cinch and so creamy with a lovely robust flavour imparted by the ginger.

1 package Honeymaid graham crackers

2 Tbs. butter

2 pounds cream cheese, softened

zest of 1/2 of a lemon

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cup + 2 Tbs. sugar

4 eggs

2 yolks

*75 ml heavy cream

(infused with 3 oz. fresh ginger)

1/4 cup + 2 Tbs. All purpose flour

Boiling water

Pour cream into a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Meanwhile roughly chop the unpeeled ginger. When the cream is hot, add the ginger, stir, turn off the heat, and place a lid on the pot. Allow it to steep for 30 minutes. Afterwards, strain the mixture pressing the ginger against the strainer with a wooden spoon to extract all the cream. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 10" springform pan with baking parchment and wrap the outside base with aluminum foil to seal the seam. Place on a sheet pan that has 1/2 to 1 inch sides.

In a food processor pulverize the graham crackers. Empty into a bowl and set aside. Melt the 2 Tbs. butter over low heat and mix into the graham cracker dust. Line the bottom of the springform pan with the graham cracker using a straight-sided glass container to tamp down the crackers, if needed. Toast the base in the oven for 7 to 10 minutes. Remove the pan and lower the oven temperature to 300 F.

In a stand mixer beat the cream cheese and sugar with a paddle at low speed. You never want to mix too much air into a cheesecake so if you find you are spending too much time readying the remaining ingredients, you may want to turn the mixer off. Otherwise you can proceed with the recipe adding the ingredients in the order listed.

I like to crack my eggs with my vanilla and zest into a small pitcher. Pour this mixture into the cream cheese in three additions allowing the egg to fully incorporate. Stop the mixer to scrape the sides and base of the bowl twice. Add the ginger cream, then the flour. Pour the mix into the springform pan. Place the pan on the oven rack and pour boiling water into the sheet pan until it is about 1/2 to 1 inch deep. Do not allow the water to rise above the aluminum foil seal you created around your pan. Carefully push the oven rack into the oven and set the timer for 40 minutes. The cake should hardly wobble in the middle when you shake it. It may take up to an hour to finish baking.

Tagliatelle with Caramelized Fennel

Fennel - one of those vegetables that is often looked over at the grocery store or market, but has such a distinctive and sophisticated taste that it can carry a whole dish. This recipe is ridiculously simple, yet feels elegant - the fennel is given a deep, sweet flavor that mingles with the pasta and cheese and is accented with the zip of lemon and the herbal flavor of the fennel greens. My husband and I made this for the first time a couple of weeks ago, using a gift certificate to a local upscale "fine food" market to buy some bright orange dried tagliatelle. Tagliatelle is an Italian egg noodle; there are plenty of good dried versions out there, or, if you are feeling ambitious, you can make your own fresh. You could also substitute fettuccine. The recipe is from Deborah Madison's fantastic book Local Flavors: Cooking and Eating from America's Farmer's Markets, which I acquired in Iowa City, inspired by the amazing summer produce. Enjoy!

2 or 3 large fennel bulbs, including the greens
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 garlic clove, minced
3/4 to 1 lb. tagliatelle
Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

1. Peel or discard, if badly bruised, the tough outer layers of the fennel, then quarter the bulbs, setting aside the greens, and slice thinly. (The core will cook to tenderness.) Heat a large pot of water for the pasta.

2. Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter with the olive oil in a wide skillet. Add the fennel and saute' over high heat, stirring occasionally, until browned in places, 7 to 10 minutes. Season with 1 teaspoon salt. Toss with the lemon juice, then add 1 cup water. Reduce the heat and cook, covered, until the liquid has evaporated. Add another 1/2 cup water and continue cooking in this fashion until the fennel is very soft and deep gold in color, about 25 minutes in all. Season with pepper. Chop a handful of fennel greens - enough to make about 1/3 cup - with the garlic and lemon zest and set aside.

3. Add salt and the pasta to the boiling water and cook until the pasta is al dente. Scoop it out and add it to the pan with the fennel and the chopped greens. Taste for salt and season with pepper. Serve with the cheese, finely grated or thinly sliced over the top.

Roast asparagus with eggs and toast

It may seem like cheating, a recipe hardly worth posting; but this, ladies and gentlemen is what I had for breakfast. And it was lovely. As I sat and ate I thought, what a great way to use leftover roasted veg, which you're likely to have if you've put in a garden or joined a CSA. And veggies at breakfast has the added bonus of allowing you to sneak something green into your diet before noon. So whether you're using up leftovers or starting the day with something made from scratch, I'll include this as encouragement to make each meal special.

breakfast for one

2 fresh eggs

1 knob of butter (just under a Tbs.)

kosher salt

freshly cracked pepper

1/3 to 1/2 cup leftover roasted veg;

such as asparagus, red peppers, or tomatoes

Since there isn't much to this recipe, I'll take the opportunity to pass on a tidbit of egg cooking knowledge .

Use a heavy-bottomed non-stick skillet and heat it to medium or medium-low. Add butter to the skillet and allow it to melt slowly swirling it around the pan occasionally. If the butter has not begun to foam once it is entirely melted, you may raise the heat; but only a little. Once the butter is visibly foaming, crack your eggs into the pan. This is just the right temperature for cooking eggs. They will coagulate slowly at this heat, so be patient. But they won't stick, and if you like your yolks runny, you have enough leeway to get them out of the pan before things overcook. Use a rubber spatula with the eggs to occasionally loosen them from the pan at their edges.

You have two options: you may flip the eggs when the white appears mostly set but you do run the slight risk of breaking the yolk. Otherwise, you can have your eggs "sunny-side up" by simply breaking through the set white with your spatula and allowing the remaining liquid white to fill the crack and thereby continue to cook. Either way works - and if you're me, you likely take a middle of the road approach and fold the eggs over on themselves not committing to either flipping or not flipping. When they are finished you will want to run the spatula round the edge of the eggs in order to release them. Turn them out onto your toast and top with roasted veg, salt, and pepper. Enjoy!

Roasted Beet salad with Goat Cheese

I am fully willing to admit that this is hardly even a recipe, but more of an idea. But, it is a good idea. This is one of my favorite things to make for a post-farmer's market lunch or early dinner, sitting on the patio, and as the weather starts to warm and asparagus is showing up in barrels, I have started dreaming of the farmer's market. (If you are in warmer climes, perhaps they have already started in your neck of the woods!) Whatever looks beautiful sitting on the tables at the market will look beautiful together in the salad: beets, with a mixture of golden, red, chiogga (with the lovely deep pink and white concentric circles), green and yellow wax beans, cherry or grape tomatoes, and any other tempting veggies. These all get the heft of a meal with the addition of slices of chevre and caramelized walnuts. I have included instructions for the main idea - beets, chevre, and walnuts - and feel free to improvise with the remaining ingredients. The instructions for the beets comes from Alice Waters' The Art of Simple Food. For a dressing, my honest favorite is one that Claudine posted a while ago, with champagne vinegar, mustard and maple syrup. A link to it is here.


For the Beets:
Trim the greens from:
1 lb. beets (red, chiogga, golden or white)
Wash thoroughly. Put them in a baking dish with a little water (enough to cover the bottom of the dish to a depth of 1/8 inch) and sprinkle with salt. Cover tightly and bake the beets in 350 degree oven until they can be easily pierced with a sharp knife, 30 minutes to 1 hour, depending on their size. Uncover and cool. Cut off the tops and roots and slice off the skins. Cut the peeled beets into small wedges, and sprinkle with:
1 teaspoon vinegar (champagne, if you are using the dressing)
Salt
Let stand for a few minutes to allow the beets to absorb the flavor. Taste and add more salt or vinegar, and then toss with:
1-2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
Set aside in the fridge until ready to assemble the salad. Can be made 1 day ahead.

For the Veggies:
Slice the ends off of
1 lb green, yellow wax beans, or a mixture thereof
and wash thoroughly. Steam gently in a steamer for just 2 minutes, checking to be sure that the beans remain crisp. Remove from the heat, and place in a bowl with ice and water until ready to add to the salad.

Wash thoroughly and slice in half
1/2 lb cherry or grape tomatoes
Set aside.

For the Chevre:
Try to look for some local goat cheese; here in CO we have an amazing local cheese called Haystack Mountain that has a booth at the farmer's market and also sells at the Whole Foods. Look for a smallish log of chevre, and remove the plastic outer. And - here is the revolutionary idea my husband passed along to me - cut the chevere into small rounds using floss. This works remarkably well, not unlike a wire cutter for clay. Set these aside as well.

For the Walnuts:
In a small saucepan, place
3/4 cup sugar
over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar melts and liquefies. Add
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped coarsly
Stir the walnuts into the melted sugar with a wooden spoon until covered. Continue to stir with the pan on medium heat as the sugar begins to caramelize and turn a golden brown. When the sugar smokes, pick the pan up off the heat and continue to stir; when the smoke has subsided, return to the heat. Continue in this way, keeping the sugar just below smoking, until the sugar is a deep caramel, and the walnuts are well toasted. This will only take a few minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat, and spoon the walnut mixture onto a sheet of wax paper or parchment, spreading the walnuts and separating them with a spoon. Sprinkle with salt, and let cool. Once cool, break apart any large clumps of walnuts.

To assemble:
Place
1 lb. spring greens
in a large bowl; any fun mixture is good. Add the veggies and some of the salad dressing (start with a little and then taste) and toss.

Place a mound of greens and veggies in each bowl. Top with beet slices, chevre, and walnuts. For a dinner, serve with large slices of artisan bread.

Heirloom Seeds

I have yet to post anything online about gardening, but now that we live in the Northeast and it has become possible to put in some crops, I am dreaming about home grown produce. So far this year we have decided only to deal with perennial flowers and herbs - it was a cost and time issue. The plan this summer is to build a raised bed on our property and prepare the soil for next year's adventures in edibles. For now, we have our IKEA shelf, grow lamp and two flats of seedlings. We are growing a multi-headed sunflower, some winter thyme, sage and Icelandic poppies with two more crops in the works.

But my real reason for writing this post was not to update you on our own humble agrarian adventures but to pass along the website of an heirloom seed company I came across today. Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds is based in MO and ships rare seed varieties around the country. If you are unfamiliar with heirloom produce, I can tell you that it is astonishing in its variety and flavour. If you are looking to include more vegetables in your diet, seeking out heirloom varieties will give you so much more in taste and choice than conventionally grown produce. And what better way to source it than to grow it yourself?

Green Bean Salad

As promised here is the green bean salad we made last week. If you are ambitious enough to cook it along with the curry - it will make a wonderful accompaniment.

And it really isn't that hard.

1 pound green beans

3 Tbs. sesame seeds

2 Tbs. vegetable oil

2 green chilies, serrano or jalapeno, seeded and sliced into rings

1/2 tsp salt

2 to 3 Tbs. of fresh lemon juice, to taste

chopped cilantro (optional)

Cook the beans in a large pot of boiling salted water until just tender - about 5 minutes. Drain them, then run them under cold water to "refresh" and cool them. At this point, trim the ends and cut the beans into 1" lengths. Set them aside in a bowl.

Heat a dry thick-bottomed skillet over high heat and add the sesame seeds. Stir these constantly as they will be prone to burning. Roast the seeds until they are slightly golden. Transfer them to a coffee or spice grinder and pulse them until they are a fine paste.

Heat the oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Toss int he chopped chilies and saute for 30 seconds. Pour the hot oil and chilies over the green beans and toss. Add the salt and sesame seeds to the mix and toss again. Lastly, dress with fresh lemon juice. You may add chopped cilantro to the salad before serving. Et voila!