Summer Simplicity

A Happy Heirloom

When I first started this blog, I thought I could only really post fancy, complex, full dishes. As I have progressed and learned more about the kind of blog I really wanted to write, I have come to realize that things don't need to be elaborate or fancy to be blog-worthy. And as I look through some of the pictures I have taken of super simple dishes, I thought, "Hey, these deserve their moment in the spotlight, too!" I mean come on, just *look* at that tomato. What fancy thing could I possibly do to it that would make it taste better than it does straight off the vine? 

So this post is a brief celebration of seasonal simplicity- a few of my favorite things that can be created in a matter of minutes, but can make you do the happy delicious dance just as much as something that takes an hour. 

*You may also note that these items are pretty tomato-heavy. We went a little crazy with the tomato plants this year, but in the best way. We have heirlooms, red grape tomatoes, yellow cherries, lemon boys, and san marzanos. I add a handful of tomatoes to nearly every meal and no, we are actually not tired of them yet ;)

Tomatoes, jalapenos, lodi apples, and fresh mint- quite the backyard bounty!

When I pick a giant bowl of these gorgeous tomatoes, I can't imagine doing anything that would take away from their natural sweetness and acidity. A majority of the time, I just chop up a combination of what is on hand. The heirlooms are fruity, as are the yellow cherries- although the cherries have a hint more acidity, and  the red grapes are bright with a great crispy bite to their skins. 

So let's go through some of my favorite options. In putting together this post, I ended up with 3 tomato items and one blueberry thing. All take about 5 minutes and make you feel like summertime. (Yes, you can feel like summertime). 

How gorgeous are these?

Let's start with the simplest.

- Tomatoes. Slice.  Salt. I prefer maldon or other flaky salt if you have it. The crunch of the flakes is so satisfying and the pop of salt with the crisp tomato skin is the perfect combo.

- Good bread. This was a fresh farmer's market rye. We were feeling fancy that day so we used Kerrygold butter. Mmmmm. 

And that's it. Fresh in-season tomatoes, salt, bread, butter.

The simplest

Just a hair more complex

- Fresh ground pepper

- Chopped fresh basil

- a drizzle of good olive oil. Like the kind you want to dip bread in... or just dip your finger in. It should be clean and fruity, or maybe even a little spicy. You can go crazy with some infused oils here if you want a little something extra (see what I use on the eggs below)

That's it. I serve this alongside eggs for breakfast, or even just on their own with some fresh toast and creamy butter. It also goes with pretty much anything you could think of for second breakfast, elevensies, lunch, dinner, or fourth meal. 

  

Still pretty simple

Moving it up just a notch

This one involves actual heat and cooking, so it is technically a bit more "difficult". Tyson isn't the biggest fan of scrambled eggs (even though I rock a soft scramble), so I make him his requested over-medium egg. The egg is seasoned with sea salt and fresh black pepper, and laid over a piece of toast (that same awesome rye, in this case). 

I mentioned infused oils above. This particular morning, I drizzled the bread with a Wild Dill olive oil that I got from Seasons here in Bethlehem, PA. I was so pleasantly surprised (as was Tyson) by the incredible level of dill flavor. That, plus the tomatoes tossed with salt, pepper, and a standard fruity olive oil made for a full-on-punch-you-in-the-face-with-summer breakfast. 

                        

Then I did the same thing for myself, but with a soft scramble instead of an over-easy egg. I wish I had had some chives or green onions on hand, but man...even without, this breakfast was rockin'. I would eat this all day, e'ry day. 

            

And one non-tomato item:

Ok here it is: Summer as represented by blueberries. What does it involve?

-Toast. We love Ezekiel bread. It is so hearty and nutty, and makes you feel full and satisfied.

- Nut butter. This was an all-natural peanut, but almond or any other nut butter would be equally lovely.

- BLUEBERRIES. We live 5 minutes from a pick-your-own berry farm.  If you have yet to experience a fresh-picked blueberry, STOP  YOUR LIFE. Whatever you have going on, just put it on hold. Go find blueberries. And no, not the pint at the local grocery store. They won't give you what you need. You may not even know you need this, but trust me- you do. Fresh blueberries are an entirely different experience from what you get in a store. It's like each fat little berry is its own full fruit-yeah, I know that sounds silly, but try one and then tell me I'm wrong. 

....Where was I? Right. Blueberries. Fresh ones. Pop them on top. 

-Final touch- local honey. Drizzle that goodness over the top like a sweet icing on a toaster pastry. We initially started purchasing local honey because a) we like supporting local merchants and b)they cure allergies!

Ok, so it turns out the second reason is not actually supported by science. But we still like supporting local merchants and our honey lady has cool chickens we get to see when we go by her farm, so we're gonna keep doing that. 

Well, these are a few of my favorite summertime preparations- they're nothing fancy, they just focus on really beautiful summer items and respecting the natural flavors of those items. I hope you try and enjoy them. I'll keep collecting some of these favorites and I'm sure I'll be back with more before the summer is out!

Eggs in Purgatory

I love eggs.
Seriously, I love eggs in all forms- poached, fried, scrambled, hard-boiled, whites only, all of it.
I especially love an egg with a runny yolk that comes pouring out like some magnificent rich creamy sauce. The eggs in that recipe totally do that. And it's super fast and easy. And it rocks.

Ingredients:
-Diced tomatoes- for a full meal (I usually have this for dinner), I will make this for myself with 3 eggs, and I use about 1/3 can of tomatoes.
-Fresh basil, chopped- if you have a can of those awesome tomatoes with basil and garlic already added, just do that. Or even add more basil. If you're into  that kind of thing (I am).
-A clove of garlic, minced (not necessary if already in tomatoes, but you can always add more. You can also just use some garlic powder if you want.)
- Eggs
-Polenta, about 1/3 c dry/person
-Maybe some melty cheese such as fontina for the polenta
-Some fresh grated parm

Ok-if you're using fresh garlic, put just a bit of EVOO in your saute pan and let the garlic cook for a minute. Add the tomatoes and basil or whatever seasonings you're feeling that day. Add some salt and pepper and let everything just hang out and get friendly on low heat for a bit.

While that's happening, get a pan going with water for the polenta. You want a 4:1 water to polenta ratio. I use Bob's Red Mill polenta which says it is the slow cook kind, but it always cooks in about 3 minutes. I would make sure you know which kind you have before you get started or you will have very cold eggs....

Bring the water to a boil. Once it starts to boil, you will whisk in the polenta and lower the heat to a simmer. It will start to thicken very quickly and probably be done in about 3 minutes. Turn off the heat, and this is when you can toss in a handful of cheese if you're feeling frisky. I like fontina here, but do whatever you want.Go crazy.

Once you have the polenta in the pan, make some little indents in your sauce and crack the eggs into your pan. Toss some S&P on top of the eggs. Cover the pan and let them cook over medium heat for about 3-4 minutes. You want the yolks runny and the whites firm. Covering the pan allows the steam to cook the tops of the eggs.

Once the whites are cooked through, slide the eggs and sauce on top of the polenta.

Top with a sprinkle of fresh grated parm and enjoy. It's hearty and flavorful, and the gooey yolk feels like you're eating a creamy cheese sauce- you don't have to remind yourself that you're actually eating healthy.

**If you're in a rush, this whole thing can be made even faster- cook the eggs separately either sunny side up or over easy while you're making the 3 minute polenta. Use the basil and garlic canned tomatoes, warm them up in a pan or in the microwave. Plate the polenta, top with tomatoes, and slide the eggs on top. Add some parm and bam- dinner. You just crushed it.

Quick post- egg drop soup yummm

 I've learned something interesting this week- attempting to completely write up a final thesis draft in a week and a half reallllllllly cuts down on my ability to blog.


Interesting.


It has also cut down on my will to cook, eat, and basically live.
But I will endeavor to persevere.


On top of it all, I have been sick the past 3 days. Awesome. So to cure myself (and retain my low-carb status), I undertook the mission of making myself some virtually carb-free but still uber-comforting homemade (mostly) egg drop soup. It took about 5 minutes.
Here's what I did:


Super Yummy Low-Carb Egg Drop Soup.


- 2 1/2 cups water
-2 tsp concentrated stock (I used chicken, you can go crazy and use veggie or beef...whatever)
  

***Before I move on, lets have a quick talk about bullion/stock. If you must use the little cubes, fine. I'm certainly not at home tossing chicken bones into a pot to make homemade stock. BUT if you can, I would recommend using concentrated products like Better than Bullion. They're still not perfect and not as good as the real stuff, but there is less sodium and they just taste better. Now back to our regularly scheduled program:

- about 1 1/2 tbsp chopped green onion
- 1 large crimini mushroom, sliced super thin (like they do the garlic on Goodfellas)
- a few drops of soy sauce (approx 1 tsp or more to taste)
-a few drops of sesame oil- just a few drops, otherwise the soup will have that oily feel to it
-somewhere between 1 and 3 eggs depending on your preference, beaten
**This is enough for 2 people- or 1 really hungry person



Boil the water in a pot, add the stock. Let it cook for a minute and then add the sesame oil and soy sauce. I don't like mine very salty so I only added a little soy. If you like more, put in more. It's your soup, do what you want.

Let it cook for another minute, then toss in the green onion and mushroom. Since the mushroom is so thin, it only takes a second to heat through. When the soup is back to a low boil, start pouring in the egg. The more you stir, the more the egg breaks up. If you like small bits, stir a lot. I like it with big bits, so I only stirred it a little. Once the egg has pretty much solidified, you're good to go.

I enjoyed it and I'm pretty sure it had healing properties (These claims have not been supported by the FDA).

Ok, hope you try this, I am off to try to make magic with swordfish and whatever we happen to have in the fridge- wish me luck!

Wait... low-carb can be... Tasty?!?

We did it. As of Wednesday a.m., we have cut out the bad white stuff (flour, potatoes, sugar- all the goodies). I am determined that we will not spend our meals eating the usual grilled protein and salads. 

As luck would have it, a couple of weeks ago, we managed to get a bag full of really great fresh fish from our buddy Lenny at Northshore seafood . If you are in the greater Lafayette area, he is the man to go to- he gets the fish flash frozen on ships in Alaska and shipped pretty much overnight. Great selection and reasonable prices. 

So I'm staring into the freezer, in search of inspiration, and I spot the salmon fillets. My initial thought- toss a spice rub on it and grill it. But NO- I will not get bored with this diet before it even begins. I take the salmon upstairs and explore the pantry. I have some diced tomatoes with basil and garlic... hmmm. 

Now as a quick side note, if you are one of the few people that have not heard- canned tomatoes are no longer a stigmatized product. Granted, you want a good quality canned tomato with minimum added sodium. But overall, they are usually canned when ripe, and taste more...tomatoe-y than any you might be getting at the market (depending on where you live). 

When it comes to my flavor profiles, I typically prefer Italian cooking. Southern Italian cooking typically includes tomatoes, peppers, olives and olive oil, garlic, artichokes, oranges, ricotta cheese, eggplants, zucchini, certain types of fish, and capers. A quick tomato sauce made with diced or stewed canned tomatoes, garlic, wine, and fresh herbs is always a go-to recipe to go with many different kinds of meat or just tossed over pasta.

For this particular recipe, I chose to use a fair amount of Southern Italian ingredients, along with onions and white wine, to poach the salmon:  

The Salmon

Ingredients:

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 small-medium onion (mine was approx 3" in diameter), sliced into thin rings

2 cloves garlic, diced finely

Approx 2 tbsp capers

1 can diced tomatoes (whatever variety you have on hand)

zest of about half of a lemon

1 Tablespoon of lemon juice

Thyme (fresh if you have it- otherwise dried would be fine)

White wine- approx 1/3-1/2 cup

1/4 cup hot water

2 salmon fillets (approx 4 oz each)

S&P to taste

Give the pan a good go 'round of olive oil- maybe 1-2 tbsp. It should be just enough to coat the pan. Slice the onions- a mandolin is ideal for this task. Toss them in the pan at medium- medium high heat and cook for about 5 mins to get them softened. Add the garlic and let them hang out for a couple of minutes at the same temp.Drain the capers and add them to the pan (you can add more or less depending on how much you like capers. I reallllly like capers.) Let them kind of fry a bit with the onions and garlic.

Add the tomatoes, thyme, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Let everything cook together for about 10 mins at medium heat. You want the flavors to blend, but not for the sauce to completely reduce- if it gets to dry, add a little bit of water.

After about 10 mins, add the wine- I took about 2 good circles of the pan with the bottle. I think it was somewhere between 1/3 and 1/2 cup- and the water. Stir and then place the filets in the pan- skin side down if the skin is still on. Cover and cook for 5-10 minutes. This depends on the thickness and size of your filets. You will want the fish to be slightly firm to the touch and to flake away with a fork.  

When I used to cook salmon, I thought the white stuff on top looked gross and I also thought maybe I had done something wrong to make it look like that. I have since been educated by my local fishmonger that this white stuff has to do with the super healthy Omega 3 fats coming out of the fish as it cooks. So there ya go. Knowledge.

The finished product

Egg Slut salad with bacon

I recently saw an episode of Top Chef All Stars with Wylie Dufresne where he was called an "egg slut". I did not know this was a real term, but I am glad to know that my condition has an actual name. You can take a fried or poached egg and put it on top if just about anything and I will love it. I only recently started putting poached eggs on top of salads and I am already a huuuuge fan.

For this recipe, I tossed together some butter lettuce, tomatoes, and...bacon. Don't judge, it's low-carb...I used 2 1/2 slices chopped up. I'm pretty sure I made 3, but Matt claims no knowledge of the missing bacon half. 

The dressing was super simple- I set aside a pinch of the garlic I chopped before tossing it into the salmon recipe. I added 1 tbsp red wine vinegar and 1 1/2 tbsp dijon mustard. I then whisked in just under 1/3 cup of EVOO, tossed in some S&P and voila. It's a good, thick dressing that will stick to your ingredients nicely.

Now, let's talk about poaching eggs. I am still a newbie, but I have gathered a few tips that have helped me out in this area and I would like to share:

1. Make sure your water is lightly bubbling, not boiling. A full boil will tear your egg to shreds.Egg drop soup, anyone?

2. When the water is ready, add just a little white vinegar- I have also used white wine vinegar. This helps bind the egg together.

3. Right before you put  the egg in, use a spoon to make a small whirlpool in the middle of the water. This will make the egg white wrap nicely around the yolk when you put it in.

4. Put your egg into a small bowl and slide it in, rather than just dropping straight from the shell.

5. I have found somewhere between 2-3 minutes to be the perfect time- it depends on how well the egg holds together and your starting water temp.

There can be an odd problem where, instead of going in as a whole, the white goes in and the yolk follows (or vice versa). Here is the outcome: I call it "decomposed salad with bacon and egg". It's very "in" right now.

When all was said and done, I still had a decent amount of sauce left. I flashed back to recipes for baked eggs with tomatoes that I had always glossed over because they seemed like entirely too much trouble for a weekday morning meal... but now I pretty much had the prep done, so I figured what the hell.

Breakfast

Leftover tomato sauce

3 eggs

shredded cheese of your choice

Ramekins or some kind of individual baking dish

I didn't even think of it until just now as I am writing this up, but I did not spray or butter the ramekins. You may want to toss a quick shot of Pam in them before beginning- I did not have much of a problem, but it would probably make for easier clean up. 

Set the oven to 450 deg F. Put a small amount of the tomato mixture on the bottom of each ramekin.

Place an egg on top of the tomato- I somehow managed to buy Jumbo eggs, so they took up a fair amount of room. Add more of the tomato mixture around the sides of the egg (mostly covering the whites). Pop them on a baking sheet and into the oven for approx 5-7 mins. You want the whites to be mostly firm, but the yolks still runny. When they look almost done, take them out and put cheese on top. I used a combination of leftover gruyere and fontina from a mac and cheese recipe- just under a tablespoon per. Put them back in the oven under the broiler for just a minute- until the cheese is melty and bubbly. Pull them out and let them sit for a minute so you don't ed up burning your mount on the cheesy goodness.

It ends up being the tomato sauce with cheese- which is always good- in some parts, but then you get to the gooey center and the yolk makes it super creamy and rich. If you have the tomato sauce up and ready to go, the whole process takes about 10 minutes and is a really satisfying and yummy start to the day. I would definitely recommend giving it a try.

So here is hoping we can stick to this low-carb regimen- at least until April 9th. 

April 9th, in case you are unaware, is our pre-decided cheat day. April 9th is...Baconfest! I know- be jealous. And for anyone who is thinking of joining- or even thinks I am ridiculous for wanting to go to a festival of bacon..... they are SOLD OUT! They sold out the day the tickets went on sale. Chi-town knows that when the Baconfest comes to town, you'd best jump on it and get those tickets- because they won't last 24 hours. 

BACON!