Soup with Fennel Four Ways!

Here we are getting ready for the harvest season and with that, a change of weather. Tomatoes, among other things, are being offered at the Farmer's Market and it is a great time to be making sauces and soups which can be canned or frozen.

Another delicious idea for a change of season meal is one that includes fennel. Fennel is often misunderstood and really should be included as a mainstay veggie. Fennel is similar to celery and celery root and that is familiar to most of us - it is a crunchy almost a little sweet alternative to celery and can be used in place of or in addition to celery.

Fennel has a pale green bulb with stalks and feathery, lace-like leaves. The leaves eventually flower and produce fennel seeds - a wonderful spice for breads, meatballs, and even herb tea. The bulb can simply be sliced and eaten raw or in a salad and the stalks can be used deliciously in long-cooking dishes and in the water used to poach fish. Fennel is a perfect seasoning for mackerel.

My White Bean Soup recipe includes both celery and fennel. Here you can use the bulb, stalks, leaves and seeds! Fennel has a mild taste and goes well in this recipe which is a great seasonal soup with a very hardy taste.

MEDITERRANEAN STYLE WHITE BEAN SOUP

adapted from The Perricone Promise

One red or green bell pepper, chopped

One yellow onion, chopped

2 ribs celery, sliced

1/3 fennel bulb, chopped

2 fennel stalks, chopped

3 TB fennel leaves, minced

8 cloves garlic

1 TB dry basil

3 tsp whole fennel seeds

½ tsp red pepper flakes
2 TB olive oil

6 C vegetable or chicken broth

1 can (28 oz.) tomatoes, chopped & drain (save juice)

2 cans (15 oz.) white beans

Parmesan cheese, grated or shaved

Croutons

Salt & Pepper

Saute in the olive oil until tender, about 10 minutes: bell pepper, onion, celery, fennel bulb and stalks, garlic, basil, fennel, & red pepper flakes.

Add broth and tomatoes and heat for a few minutes. Add the beans and fennel leaves, and heat another few minutes. Taste, add salt & pepper, adjust other seasonings.

Serve topped with Parmesan cheese & croutons.

ENJOY!

Summertime, summertime.....

Summertime and the livin' is easy. Monsoons, cicadas singing, evenings on the front porch, the ocean, lakes and hiking trails, swimming, boating and suntans....what could be better? Just one thing, of course, and that would be the addition of a great meal.

Along with grilling it's great to make an array of side dishes and other goodies to fill a gorgeous summer back-yard barbeque and/or a picnic dinner while listening to music in the many parks and public places that offer free summer concerts.

Two of my faves are really quick and easy to prepare: Caesar Salad and Waldorf Salad. Try your hand at these - I know you will enjoy!

JOY'S CAESAR SALAD WITH HOMEMADE CROUTONS

Chopped Romaine Lettuce

Caesar Dressing

Homemade Croutons

Fresh Shaved Parmesan Cheese

Dressing:

Bertolli Extra Virgin Olive Oil - 1/2 Cup

Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice - start w/ 2 squeezes!

Crushed and Mashed Garlic - 6 cloves

Salt and fresh ground pepper

Dry Mustard - dash

Anchovy Paste - dash

Red Wine Vinegar - 1 tsp to taste

Worcestershire - dash

Croutons:

1 baguette cut into 1” cubes

2 Tb. olive oil

2 Tb. melted butter

3 large garlic cloves, minced and mashed

1/3 C. Parmesan Cheese - finely grated

2 Tb. dry parsley

Salt

Paprika

Put all ingredients into bottom of your salad bowl and whisk together. Adjust to taste. Add lettuce and toss. Taste again and add more oil, vinegar, or lemon juice and seasonings as needed.

Toss in croutons then shave fresh parmesan cheese on top.

SUMMER WALDORF SALAD

Apples - 2 Gala or Fuji (sweet apples are best) - Chopped

Celery - 6 Stalks - Chopped

(*Fennel - 2 big pieces sliced out of the bulb - optional) - Chopped

Shaved Unsweetened Coconut

Toasted or *Candied Walnuts - chopped

Craisins or Golden Raisins

Mayonnaise - about 2 cups

Sour Cream or Yogurt - about 1/2 cup

Squeeze of Lemon

(*or Pecans or Pistachios - toasted)

(*if you use fennel you will LOVE it! You mince some of the lacey leaves into the salad as well. Use the stalks and the rest of the bulb and leaves for soup - see my White Bean Soup coming next issue or email me for the recipe!)

Chop the apples and celery (and fennel) into 1/2” chunks. Add the coconut, nuts, and raisins then toss. Mix the Mayonnaise with sour cream or yogurt and add a squeeze of lemon. Toss into the salad - it should be a little over dressed so the salad has time to absorb the dressing. Chill for at least 2 hours or overnight.

ENJOY!

A very berry Bumbleberry Pie

Berry season is upon us and we have so many to choose from: strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, and of course, “bumbleberries”! You will see what a bumbleberry is when you read the recipe below that was given to me to share with you by one of our wonderful Prescott, AZ restaurantiers.

BUMBLEBERRY PIE by Billie Jo Nelson

There is no such thing as a "bumbleberry"...this means a bumble of berries.

I use the berries as listed but you may use strawberries also as long as the

amount of berries totals the same. (I prefer to NOT use strawberries as they tend to take over the flavor and also cause the cut slices to have a poor presentation). I cut the slices and warm them and add lots of creamy vanilla ice-cream! I teach a class on pie making at The Rose and the Bumbleberry Pie is the one that participants make to take home from the class. I surely hope you try this recipe. Warm regards, Billie Jo Nelson, owner, The Rose Restaurant

INSTRUCTIONS:

Prepare enough pastry for a 9", two crust pie

Roll out one pastry crust and use it to line the pie pan

In a medium size bowl well mix the following and set aside:

1 Cup of sugar

5 Tablespoons of flour

2 Tablespoons of corn starch

1/2 Teaspoon cinnamon

In a large bowl combine the following:

1-1/2 Cups red raspberries

1-1/2 Cups blackberries

1-1/2 Cups Marion berries (These are like LARGE blueberries; they are grown in Oregon.)

(If you have less or more than one of the berries, just make sure you have a total of 4-1/2 cups.)

Sprinkle the sugar mixture on top of the berries and gently toss. Scoop the

sweetened berries into your pastry. There will be some sugar mixture left in the bottom of the bowl. *Gently sprinkle it onto the berries in the pastry.

(*NOTE: I do not put all of this sugar mixture on the berries as that makes the pie too moist and hard to plate. As a "rule of thumb", I probably have about a

1/3 cup of sugar mixture left that gets tossed out.)

Place three pats of butter on top of the pie and roll out your second pastry. Place the pastry on top of the pie and seal by crimping the edge. Beat an egg until well combined and brush the egg on the top crust. Make a few slits in the crust to allow for the escape of steam.

Bake at 375 degrees for about 35 to 40 minutes in the lower one third of your oven. As oven temperatures vary, make sure the pie is a deep, golden color. This assures your bottom pastry is well cooked.

Cool the pie before cutting and serving. Warm each piece in your microwave and top with vanilla ice cream.

Enjoy!

Walk on the Wild Side

Breakfast can be more than the first meal of the day. It can be eaten at any meal-time and should be way more than just fuel. I love to take my breakfast out onto my porch where I can enjoy the early days of summer which are both breezy and hot. Keeping it simple is surely the best way for me and so, as with other meals, I like to make something that I can eat for at least a few days. Something so delish that I cannot wait to devour it!

I love eggs because they are incredibly versatile. They can be cooked with any vegetable and can be accompanied by any number of fruits, meats, and breads. The local Farmer's Market has fresh eggs here every Saturday and so, if you can get locally grown eggs, you will definitely taste the difference.

Every week I get an email from 2 of the local farms to inform me of the latest harvest. It is from that list that I get my vegetable and fruit inspirations. I am not opposed to using out-of-season produce but NOW is the time to get the very best fresh harvested produce. The recipes here can be varied according to whatever you have on hand. Enjoy walking on the locally-grown wild side!!

FRITTATA WITH GOAT CHEESE, CORN & CHERRY TOMATOES

1/2 medium onion, rough chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

3/4 Cup canned corn, drained

sweet cream butter

olive oil

6 eggs, beaten

dash of milk or cream

1 tsp dry, crumbled basil

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1 cup crumbled goat cheese

cherry tomatoes, 12 cut in half

chopped kalamata olives - about 12 without pits

1. In a large deep skillet, saute the onion and garlic with about 2 Tb. butter and 1 Tb. olive oil. Add the drained corn and cook for about 2-3 minutes. Set aside in the pan.

2. Beat the eggs with the cream then add the basil, salt and pepper, red pepper flakes, and half of the goat cheese. Gently fold the ingredients together.

3. Turn on a medium flame under the onion skillet and add more oil and butter as needed. Make sure the butter-oil mixture is sizzling, then pour in the egg mixture.

4. Cook while gently scraping the sides and bottom of the pan with a rubber sptatula making sure that the liquid eggs flow underneath. Cook for about 3 minutes.

5. Turn flame to low and cook until the Frittata is partially set, about 3-5 minutes.

6. Place the cherry tomatoes and olives ontop then sprinkle on the remaining goat cheese.

7. Cover and cook until the eggs are completely done, about 10 more minutes.

8. Re-season as needed with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.

9. Cut into 6 wedges and serve hot or at room temperature.

10. Serve with fresh in-season fruit salad with yogurt-citrus dressing - see website for recipe!

DIANE'S FRUIT SALAD

2 C strawberries

1 C Blueberries

1T Mint

Sprite

2 ½ t Lemon Zest

½ C Ricotta (part skim)

2 T sour cream (low fat)

Cut fruit, mix with mint & 2 T Sprite. Let sit 10 min.

Whip: ricotta, zest, 2 T Sprite. Then add sour cream. Put on top of fruit.

Enjoy!

Grillin' and Chillin'

Ah, the sweet outdoors. We have some great summertime celebrations coming up and along with Father's Day and the Summer Solstice comes the biggest and best of the year: The Fourth of July. Independence Day USA! What a perfect day for “grillin' and chillin'”. The ingredients for grilling are very simple: a grill - either charcoal or gas, a rub or a marinade, and the perfect main dish to be grilled as the centerpiece of our barbeque meal.

Along with that are the sides and the endless parade of desserts and munchies. I suggest inviting guests for dinner before the fireworks and have the guests bring munchies and desserts as pot luck. You, as the host, provide the main dish like grilled swordfish steaks along with a killer side dish like my Southwest Pasta Salad which has blackeyed peas and corn. Yum!!

Add to that a green salad and crusty Garlic Bread and you have a gourmet meal that promises to please every one present. The marinade presented here is also great for any meat or chicken that you may want to try. Enjoy and party on!!!

SWORDFISH STEAKS MARINATED AND GRILLED

2 pounds swordfish steaks- serves 4-6

Marinade:

3/4 cup soy sauce

2-3 TB lemon juice

3/4 C. orange juice

4 TB Ketchup

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1/3 C. parsley leaves, chopped

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp. pepper

Combine ingredients and marinate the swordfish steaks for 1-2 hours. Heat your grill and put on the fish. While it cooks, baste it occasionally with the marinade.

Serve with rice or pasta salad, grilled veggies and French bread.

SOUTHWESTERN PASTA SALAD

Best made 1-2 days ahead

One lb. medium Macaroni Shells, cooked al dente

1/3 C. Cider vinegar

¾ C. Mayonnaise

¼ C. Vegetable Oil

1 C. Celery, chopped

1 bunch (about 6) Green Onions including green tops, chopped

One green pepper, chopped

Pimiento, one small jar (about 4 oz.), drained

3-6 generous dashes Worcestershire

3-6 dashes Tabasco

Salt & Freshly ground Pepper to taste

One can (15oz.) Black Eyed Peas, drained

One can (15oz.) Corn, drained

One small can (3-4 oz.) pitted Black Olives, sliced & drained

One jar (4 oz.) Green Olives with Pimiento, drained

1. Cook & drain pasta. In the meantime, combine the vinegar, oil, and mayo. When pasta is done and drained, put in a large bowl and add the mayonnaise mixture just to moisten the pasta, then set aside while you fix the rest of the salad.

2. Prep all the rest of the ingredients and add to pasta. Mix and adjust seasonings including adding more dressing as needed.

Note: add the dressing incrementally until you find the salad a bit moist but not drenched. Save any extra dressing.

3.Cover in refer for 1-2 days, adjust seasoning and dressing and serve.

ENJOY!!

BBQ Heaven - Burgers and Slaw!

Greetings from the mountains where we are, at long last, truly celebrating spring. It did snow last week but melted just as quickly and we still welcome the moisture. The temperature is warm and the flowers are budding, the grass is green and the mountains are calling.

We are going to celebrate Memorial Day soon and in addition to expressing our gratitude for those that serve and have served our country, we are going to ready our grills and our picnic tables. Time for a Memorial Day weekend barbeque.

My favorites are simple: burgers and slaw and today I want to share with you two different burger recipes with slaws that accompany them well for the occasion. Enjoy!

PORTOBELLO BURGERS

Portobello Mushroom Marinade:

1/4 C Olive Oil

Balsamic Vinegar 2 TB

Garlic, 3 cloves minced

Mayonnaise Dressing:

1/2 C mayonnaise

2 -3 tsp fancy mustard

1/4 C parmesan cheese, grated

Garlic, 2 cloves minced

Burgers:

4 large Portobello mushrooms

salt & pepper

4 slices of cheese: mozzarella or provolone

1/3 C fresh basil leaves

1 tomato, sliced

2 fireroasted bell peppers, canned or jar from Trader Joe's, drained & pat dry

8 slices of sourdough bread or 4 hamburger buns, sliced in half

1. Preheat your barbeque grill. Mix the marinade and set aside. Mix the dressing and set aside.

2. Clean the mushrooms by removing the stems and gills and then wipe the caps clean. Brush both sides of mushrooms with marinade, sprinkle with salt and pepper, then let sit for about 10 minutes to soak up flavors. Brush the bread or buns lightly with marinade and set aside.

3. Place the mushrooms gill side down on the grill for about 3-5 minutes. Turn over and grill for 3-5 more minutes. Reduce heat to low and turn mushroom caps are up. Top them with cheese. Place the bread on the grill, cut side down and let cheese melt while bread becomes lightly toasted. Watch very carefully so nothing burns.

4. Assemble burgers with dressing on the bun, mushroom, basil leaves, tomato and slice of bell pepper.

5. Serve with Summer Slaw and a tossed garden salad.

SUMMER SLAW

1/2 red cabbage

1/2 green cabbage

3-4 carrots

3-4 celery stalks

1/2 medium jicama

4-6 scallions

1/2 - 1 cup golden raisins

1/2 - one Jalapeno pepper

salt & pepper

Poppy Seed Dressing (Brianna's is the best)

1. Grate the cabbages.

2. Dice the carrots, celery, jicama, and scallions. Add raisins.

3. Cut the Jalapeno pepper in half, carefully remove the seeds and membranes. Dice 1/2 of it very small. Add to salad and mix. If you like it hot, dice and add the rest.

4. Salt and pepper to taste.

5. Add your dressing and toss.

6. Chill overnight for the flavors to meld.

TURKEY BURGERS GRILLED ASIAN STYLE

1/4 C. rice vinegar

1/4 C. soy sauce

12 Shiitake mushrooms, stems removed (if you use dry one, just soak to reconstitute)

6 scallions, trimmed

1 1/2 lb ground turkey

one egg, beaten

1/4 Panko bread crumbs

2 TB soy sauce

1/4 tsp. ground ginger

Nonstick spray

1. Heat barbeque grill.
2.Mix rice vinegar and 1/4 cup soy sauce in a small bowl; set aside.
3. Quarter 4 Shiitake mushrooms and 2 scallions; pulse in food processor until finely chopped. Add to ground turkey along with one egg, the bread crumbs, 2 Tbsp soy sauce, and the ginger - add the liquids slowly as you may need less. Gently mix to combine.
4. Shape into four 1-in.-thick burgers. Chill for about 30 minutes to firm up the patties.
5. Spray burgers and remaining mushrooms and scallions with nonstick spray - coat well.
6. Grill burgers for 12 to 14 minutes, turning only once and check with meat thermometer which should read 165 degrees. Remove mushrooms and scallions as they are cooked, set aside.
7. Serve burgers with mushrooms and scallions. Dress burgers with mayonnaise and mustard.
8. Serve with Oriental Coleslaw.

ORIENTAL COLESLAW

1/2 green cabbage, grated

2 - 3 carrots, grated

3-4 scallions (use the whole scallion including green parts), chopped

1/2 cup cilantro, rough chopped

5 TB. sesame seeds

5 TB. slivered almonds

1 C. mayonnaise

2 TB honey

1/8 - 1/4 C. rice wine vinegar

2 packages of Top Ramen noodles (dry) (do not use the season packet inside!)

1. Put honey into a bowl and slowly add 1/8 C. vinegar, mix until honey dissolves. Add mayonnaise then taste. If more vinegar is needed just add to taste. If more honey is needed then dissolve more in a tiny amount of vinegar before adding. Set aside.

2. Brown sesame seeds carefully in a dry skillet. Set aside. Brown the almonds in same, add to seeds.

3. Mix all prepared veggies in a bowl. Add dressing and mix. Add seeds and nuts, mix. Adjust seasonings.

4. Take the dry (uncooked) noodles from the Ramen packages. Scrunch them up to a rough texture and sprinkle on top.

A Quick Stir Fry

Stir fry is a quick easy meal to prepare.  After a long day or at the spur of the moment, this really is dinner in less than 30 minutes! Use whichever veggies you happen to have and either meat or chicken if you like (or even both).  If you used already cooked ingredients, just heat them until they are hot.  Remember that the firmer veggies such as broccoli, green beans and cauliflower, should be blanched first.

Be sure to have all ingredients ready before you start to cook:  chop all veggies, assemble bowl of ice water, get your oil out, spices, herbs, soy sauce - all should be ready to go because once started, the stir fry goes lickedy split.

If you double a recipe you can use the left over shrimp (must be used the next day) to make shrimp tacos.  Just fill your heated tortillas with shrimp and taco goodies and you can even include salad or coleslaw if you have any kicking around.  You can use my recipe for Mango Salsa and don't forget corn chips!  Delish!

GARLIC SHRIMP STIR FRIED WITH BROCCOLI AND SPINACH

Broccoli, one head, cut into bite sized pieces

One 10oz. package of pre-washed, fresh spinach

2 dozen medium shrimp, peeled and de-veined

soy sauce

olive oil

salt

lemon pepper

granulated garlic

6 cloves of garlic, chopped medium

bowl of ice water (have this ready!) 

1. Start your rice.

2. Bring medium pot of water to boil, drop in broccoli and let sit for 3-4 minutes.  Drain and immediately plunge into the bowl of ice water to stop the cooking.  Drain and set aside.

3. Peel and de-vein the shrimp, dry on a paper towel and sprinkle with a dry marinade of the salt, lemon pepper, and granulated garlic.  Set aside.

4. Chop garlic, set aside.

5. Open spinach package, line up your other ingredients:  soy sauce & oil, and get them ready by your pan or wok along with the veggies and garlic.

6. Heat pan on high, add oil then broccoli and garlic, and stir fry for just a few minutes making sure that the garlic does not burn.  Put on the lid, let steam for one minute, then put in a splash of soy sauce, stir, put lid back on and steam for another minute.

7. Turn up flame, add shrimp and stir until pink and plump, about 2 minutes.  Do not overcook!  When all is tender, put into empty blanching pot and set aside.

8. With flame up, add a bit more oil if needed, stir fry the spinach until it cooks down.  Take the broccoli shrimp mixture and add it to the spinach in the pan and toss until well mixed.

9. Serve with rice.

Enjoy!

MANGO SALSA

1 can mango, 14 oz.

1/4 red onion, chopped

1/4 red bell pepper, chopped

1/2 cucumber, peeled and chopped

1/2 - 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced

4 Tb fresh cilantro, chopped

1 1/2 tsp fresh lime juice or to taste

1 1/2 tsp orange juice or to taste

salt and pepper to taste

optional: 1/4 - 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

Mix all prepared ingredients together and chill. Served with fish, chicken or pork. Great in homemade tacos.