SUMMER HARVEST
It is that wonderful time of year when produce is in abundance! Corn is ripe,
zucchini are the size of baseball bats, and tomatoes are turning a vibrant red.
If you have your own garden, or even a good friend who does, you are likely on
the verge of running out of ideas for using your garden goodies! Let us here
at Salt Traders and didi davis artisan food give you some fresh ideas to help you make the most of these
summer gems.
Each of these seven recipes gives you a simple and delicious way to use an everyday ingredient from your garden.
1.
BLUEBERRY MUFFINS
from Chef Didi Davis
Makes 12 muffins
2 cups flour
¾ cup sugar
½ tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
¾ cup milk or half and half
2 eggs
1-2 tsp vanilla
1 stick butter, melted
2 cups blueberries
didi davis food Lemon Sugar
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Mix flour, sugar, salt and baking powder together in a bowl, making a well in the center. In a second bowl, whisk together milk, eggs, and vanilla. Add melted butter to this mixture, stirring quickly. Pour into the well of dry ingredients and stir together with a spoon, adding the blueberries.
Pour batter into greased muffin pan. Sprinkle muffin tops liberally with didi davis food Lemon Sugar. Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
from Side Dishes: Creative and Simple by Chef Didi Davis
Serves 4
This old-fashioned gem is simple to make and far superior in taste and texture to anything packaged. The corn is scraped from the cob, producing lots of sweet milk. To make the dish even more luxuriant, the kernels are cooked with heavy cream. Enjoy with roast chicken and ripe tomato slices.
4 large ears sweet corn, husks and silks removed
1 cup heavy or whipping cream
2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage or 2 teaspoons dried (optional)
Fine Sicilian Sea Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Using a sharp knife, make closely spaced parallel slits down each row of kernels, slicing through the center of each kernel. Using the back of a knife, scrape the corn into a bowl to remove all the kernels and milk. You should end up with 2 to 3 cups corn and milk.
Transfer to a medium saucepan and add the cream and sage, if using. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, reduce the heat to medium and cook until thick and creamy, 20 to 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper as needed, and serve in small bowls.
Variations:
- Add an equal amount of diced or shredded yellow summer squash sautéed in butter and seasoned with salt and pepper.
- To turn this dish into a sauce, add minced garlic and parsley to the finished corn. Spoon it over marinated and grilled boneless chicken breasts.
3. RATATOUILLE
From Side Dishes: Creative and Simple by Chef Didi Davis
Serves 6 to 8
Ratatouille is a light Provencal medley of eggplant, onions, sweet peppers, zucchini and tomatoes. Enjoy with scrambled eggs or omelettes for breakfast or brunch, or for dinner with grilled or roasted meats, poultry or seafood.
1/2 cup olive oil
1 pound eggplant, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
Freshly ground pepper
1 pound onions (about 3 medium), sliced 1/4-1/2 inch thick
1/2 pound sweet peppers, red, orange or yellow, cut into 1/2-inch dice
4 large garlic cloves, minced
1 pound zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 pound tomatoes (about 3 medium), cored and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 bay leaf
1-2 tablespoons didi davis food Fennel Thyme Salt
Heat
1/4 cup of the oil in a large nonreactive skillet or Dutch oven over
medium heat. Add the eggplant, season with pepper and cook for 7
minutes, or until softened, tossing often. Remove to a bowl.
Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the remaining 1/4 cup oil to the skillet. Add the onions, sprinkle with pepper, stir, cover and saute for about 20 minutes, uncovering to stir often, until the onions are soft with very little color. Uncover and add the peppers and garlic.
Sprinkle with pepper, stir, cover and cook for 10 minutes more, uncovering occasionally to stir. Add the zucchini, season with pepper, stir, cover and cook another 5 minutes, stirring often. Uncover the skillet and add the tomatoes, bay leaf and Fennel Thyme Salt to taste and reserved eggplant. Stew for 1 hour, with the cover askew, stirring often.
When done, remove bayleaf, and transfer the ratatouille to a bowl. May be served hot, at room temperature or chilled.
from Chef Didi Davis
This delightful side salad is easy and refreshing.
Cucumbers, chilled
Apple Cider Vinegar
didi davis food Mojito Sugar
Fine Sicilian Sea Salt
Freshly Ground Pepper
Slice the cucumbers and arrange them in a dish with sides. Pour apple cider vinegar liberally over cucumbers. Sprinkle with Mojito Sugar, salt, and freshly ground pepper. Serve chilled.
Garlic
Rustic bread
Tomatoes
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
White Cyprus Sea Salt
Freshly ground pepper (optional)
Peel and cut in half one or two cloves garlic. Toast slices of rustic country bread. Rub the cut side of the garlic on the toast. Cut a ripe room-temperature tomato in half crosswise. Gently squeeze out the extra seeds with some juice. Rub the cut tomato over the toast after the garlic.
Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil (try the Tuscan, Sicilian, or Spanish).
Scatter with a pinch of White Cyprus sea salt. Scatter with ground pepper, if desired (try Lampung or Comet's Tail).
When I lived in the South of France, my most favorite activity was going to market on a daily basis. I never got tired of looking at the beautiful vegetables and cheeses! Among many other things, I developed a strong love for goat cheese, and this salad quickly became a favorite lunch.
This delightful salad is easy to prepare, and is sure to wow your taste buds! Experience a variety of summer flavors that gradually transition from the tang of the balsamic dressing into the smooth and velvety flavor of the warm goat cheese.
Balsamic-Mustard Dressing (recipe below)
Lettuce
Radishes
Goat Cheese
1 egg, beaten
Breadcrumbs
1 T. Olive Oil
Pepper
Begin by making the Balsamic Mustard Dressing (see recipe below). Set aside.
Wash lettuce and arrange on serving platter. Slice radishes paper thin and arrange atop lettuce.
Prepare goat cheese medallions by slicing goat cheese log into ½ inch slices. Brush medallions completely with egg, and roll in bread crumbs until covered.
In a skillet, heat olive oil on medium heat. Add goat cheese medallions and cook until bread crumbs crisp and brown, and the cheese begins to soften.
Add cheese medallions to salad. Drizzle with balsamic-mustard dressing, sprinkle with freshly ground pepper and serve immediately.
from Chef Didi Davis
Makes about 1 ½ cups
½ cup balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons plain Dijon mustard, or more to taste
1 large clove garlic, minced
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon Fine Sicilian Sea Salt, or to taste
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup olive oil or other vegetable oil
Place the vinegar, mustard, garlic, brown sugar, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl. Whisk until smooth. Pour in the oil in a stream and whisk to emulsify. Taste for seasoning and serve over salad or transfer to a container and refrigerate until ready to use.
from A Fresh Look at Saucing Foods by Chef Didi Davis
Makes about 1 ¼ cups
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon water
1 cup light brown sugar
½ cup heavy cream
Fresh peaches
Fleur de Sel Sea Salt, to taste
Melt the butter in a heavy, medium-size sauce-pan. Add the lemon juice and water and mix. Add the sugar and stir until it is dissolved. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally, and boil it gently for 7 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let it sit for a couple of minutes until the syrup has stopped boiling. Whisk in the cream until the mixture is smooth and pour the sauce into a bowl or pitcher. Butterscotch sauce may be served warm or at room temperature.
Remove pits from peaches and slice. Place in bowls for serving. Pour sauce over fruit and sprinkle lightly with Fleur de Sel. Enjoy!
Variation:
Delicious and refreshing over nectarines, pineapple or vanilla ice cream!
Frankly speaking, till I watched the cartoon ( http://file.sh/Ratatouille+torrent.html ), I didn't have the slightest idea of the dish! I will surely cook it!
Posted by: yella | April 22, 2009 at 04:37 AM