by rivka
on September 13, 2008
If you’re anything like me, your fridge is swimming with zucchini and corn, your counters teeming with beautiful tomatoes. Not that I’m complaining, mind you — I wouldn’t dare, with summer produce this close to done — I’m just saying, I’ve got three bumper crops and I don’t even have a garden. What’s a girl to do?
Not fret, that’s for sure. I’ve found countless] great sources for ideas to use up the big three. Not to mention the inner-workings of my own crazy imagination…which led to this summer vegetable (and fish) stew. The fish in () because it’s optional. (Not that everything in this recipe isn’t optional — hell, you could change the stew entirely for all I care — but I’ve been told by my friends that I need to be more assertive and instructive, less “just do what you want”ish. I’m trying.) You want to know a secret? I didn’t plan on making this a fish stew at all. I planned on making braised zucchini-ratatouille dish, then pan-frying some turbot fillets and laying them nicely on top. All went as planned, until I flipped my fillets (which were doing beautifully in a generous helping of browned butter). I’d hoped for them to have a nice, crisp browned crust, but instead the grains had separated and stuck to the bottom of the pan and it didn’t look pretty at all. For your sake — so that you wouldn’t have to look at a picture of a yummy-ugly dish — I took the ratatouille, tossed it right back in the pan, and started spearing the fillets with my spatula to break them up a bit. As I finished them off in the ratatouille, they started to break down a bit, forming a nice-looking stew. I served the stew (to myself and D) with a slice of good, crusty sourdough, which proved ideal for mopping up the juices at the bottom of my bowl. What started as a mistake ended…quite nicely, if you ask me.
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by rivka
on September 8, 2008
I rarely title my posts with anything but the name of the recipe I’m posting — but this particular recipe is fabulous, and if I told you what it was called, I might scare you. Let’s just say it’s not your ordinary gaspacho. First off, it’s white. As you might have guessed, cucumbers are definitely at play here, and they lend a wonderful fruity freshness that’s key in offsetting…the other ingredients. Also in the mix are almonds that have been blanched, toasted, and ground, as well as rustic bread that’s been soaked in water and blended to thicken the soup. And that other ingredient, you ask? Buttermilk. Don’t freak out.
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by rivka
on September 5, 2008
Until two nights ago, I’d never made a portobello burger. Hard to believe, I know. It’s, like, the simplest thing to make. Like, ever. And yet I somehow managed to make chocolate pretzels, potato foccacia, even Buche De Noel before getting around to this dead-simple dinner. Well, we’ve remedied that, folks, yes we have — and it certainly won’t be the last time I do it. Some facts about portobello burgers: they’re freakin’ easy. And tasty. Did I mention easy? Oh, and they’re uber-versatile. Like last night, for example, D ate hers as she would a normal burger: pickles, honey mustard, tomato, bbq sauce. I had mine like a true snob: taleggio cheese, avocado, heirloom tomato, pesto, on ciabatta bread. Delicious either way, we’ll both assure you. And really, took approximately 8 minutes to cook. I don’t have a grill or grill pan, but I used a very hot castiron pan and it did the trick.
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by rivka
on September 2, 2008
If I may say so myself, tonight was a smashing success. A whole day into my challenge and I’m still thrilled that I took it on! On the menu this evening was kalamata olive sourdough bread from the market, homemade eggplant caponata, and greens with heirloom tomatoes, feta, and red onions that I pickled in fresh-squeezed lime juice till they turned a beautiful shade of purple.
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by rivka
on August 31, 2008
You hoo — anyone out there? It’s been a rough couple months for NDP, between six weeks of crazy work schedules and a long vacation to Alaska (yes, I’m back and I’ve got beautiful pictures to share!). But I promise, I haven’t forgotten about you. No, no, no. Never. In fact, I’ve decided not only to resume regular posting, but to do so with a bit of a bang. Read on.
(But first, peek at my pics from Alaska….)
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by rivka
on August 27, 2008
I don’t know if trashy is your cup of tea, but when I was a kid I absolutely loved Entenmann’s ultimate crumb cake. The ratio of crumbs to cake on that thing was approximately 8:1, the little bit of cake base wholly overwhelmed by a thick coat of streusel. Still, I hardly ate the cake. Frankly, I just liked those crumbs.
While Entenmann’s isn’t exactly my thing anymore, I still have an uber-softspot for crumb cake. Something about that combination of brown sugar, nuts, cinnamon, and (of course) butter makes almost any cake better. I’ve outgrown my habit of picking crumbs off the cake (ahem, almost), but to compensate, I’ve taken to putting in twice the amount of streusel called for in the recipe. In case you’re not so inclined, I’ve recorded the original recipe here.
Well, almost the original recipe; I happened to have some of the last of summer’s sweet cherries, which I pitted for this cake. If you have sour cherries lying around, they’d be even better.
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by rivka
on August 18, 2008
From the archives — just in time to use up those zucchinis.
What else can I say? It seems almost silly to even call this a recipe. Simplicity aside, it’s a fantastic way to get rid of the zucchini that’s taking over your garden. (I actually have no experience with this — having no garden in my small DC apartment — but I hear the rumors.)
It’s also the perfect antidote to a hot summer day: cook it at night — it takes like 30 minutes, tops — and store in the fridge for when you’re too darn lazy to cook but want to taste summer.
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by rivka
on August 8, 2008
Yes, yes, summer’s almost over (eek! I won’t say it again, I promise) — but there’s still plenty of time for you country folk to fire up your grill while we city folk peer jealously out our windows and inhale the aromas. Meanwhile, if you’re an urbanite lucky enough to get invited over to said grill-equipped home, here’s a great slaw to bring along with. I guarantee it’ll win you some fans — maybe even get you invited back. (You’ll notice that I actually just brought it for lunch one day. I promise it tastes good both outdoors and in A/C.)
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