Savor the final flavors of summer with this delicious, easy soup inspired by a chef from Provence who I saw on "Diary of a Foodie" on PBS. The flavors are crisp, clean and refreshing with a little unexpected sweetness. It is also amazingly creamy
4 yellow tomatoes
2 orange tomatoes
1/4 honeydew or Israeli perfume melon (green flesh)
1/2 english cucumber, peeled
1/4 red onion, cut into chunks
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon olive oil
Whizz all ingredients in blender. Serve with diced yellow tomato and cucumber for garnish.
If you really want to go to town. Cut the remaining cucumber into small chunks and toss with olive oil, lemon juice and fresh basil flowers, place in soup bowl and ladle gazpacho over cucs.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Lamb Recipes
Still recovering from the DNC and busy with the start of school so all I have managed to do so far is saute some lamb chops, seasoned with olive oil, salt and pepper in a high heat pan about 4 minutes a side so they were browned and beautiful on the outside and pink and tender on the inside. The best lamb I have ever tasted. More to follow.......
FYI just bought a beautifully butchered and packaged 4H Colorado Lamb. I am Colorado Proud!
September 24th
Autumn Lamb Stew
1 lb lamb stew meat
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup flour
2 tbs cumin
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
2 tbs sweet patrika
1 bag frozen cubed butternut squash
1 cup diced prunes
Season lamb and brown in a large casserole. Remove and add onions and galic and cook until soft.
Stir in spices and cook a few minutes so they release their aromas/flavors.
Add lamb, squash and prunes. Sprinkle flour over top and stir in.
Add 6 cups chicken stock.
Bring to a low boil and then turn down heat to simmer for an hour.
Lamb Kofta
I used the shoulder steak meat for this - I ground it in my food processor with the onions, garlic and spices.
1 lb ground lamb
1/2 onion
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp cumin
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsly
salt and pepper
Shape lamb mixture into balls or press with your hand onto wooden skewers forming a cylindrical "wrap" around the skewer.
Shallow fry balls or grill skewers. Serve with pitas, hummus, tzatski or tahini sauce.
Sticky Lamb Ribs
I must say I was a bit apprehensive about the lamb ribs. They were so good!
2 racks ribs
Dry rub - garlic salt, smoked paprika, black pepper over ribs.
Sticky sauce - 1 btle oyster sauce, 1/2 cup honey, garlic salt -mix together brush over ribs.
Place in ovenproof dish and slow cook at 225 for 4-6 hours
Heat Grill to high and grill ribs just before eating to give them a crispy crust!
Delish
Leg of Lamb
Mix together 6 cloves garlic, crushed, 3 tbs fresh rosemary, zest of one lemon, 1/4 cup olive oil, salt and pepper.
Rub all over leg of lamb day before or morning before you cook the lamb.
We usually cook our leg of lamb on the grill. Start with a preheated high grill and get a good sear on each side (about 5 minutes a side) then put the roast up on the rack, turn down head to med-high, close lid and cook (roast) until an instant read thermometer reaches 145 (rare), 155 medium, 165 well done- about 45 minutes depending on size of the leg. Remove and cover in foil to rest.
Or roast in oven at 400.
FYI just bought a beautifully butchered and packaged 4H Colorado Lamb. I am Colorado Proud!
September 24th
Autumn Lamb Stew
1 lb lamb stew meat
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup flour
2 tbs cumin
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
2 tbs sweet patrika
1 bag frozen cubed butternut squash
1 cup diced prunes
Season lamb and brown in a large casserole. Remove and add onions and galic and cook until soft.
Stir in spices and cook a few minutes so they release their aromas/flavors.
Add lamb, squash and prunes. Sprinkle flour over top and stir in.
Add 6 cups chicken stock.
Bring to a low boil and then turn down heat to simmer for an hour.
Lamb Kofta
I used the shoulder steak meat for this - I ground it in my food processor with the onions, garlic and spices.
1 lb ground lamb
1/2 onion
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp cumin
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsly
salt and pepper
Shape lamb mixture into balls or press with your hand onto wooden skewers forming a cylindrical "wrap" around the skewer.
Shallow fry balls or grill skewers. Serve with pitas, hummus, tzatski or tahini sauce.
Sticky Lamb Ribs
I must say I was a bit apprehensive about the lamb ribs. They were so good!
2 racks ribs
Dry rub - garlic salt, smoked paprika, black pepper over ribs.
Sticky sauce - 1 btle oyster sauce, 1/2 cup honey, garlic salt -mix together brush over ribs.
Place in ovenproof dish and slow cook at 225 for 4-6 hours
Heat Grill to high and grill ribs just before eating to give them a crispy crust!
Delish
Leg of Lamb
Mix together 6 cloves garlic, crushed, 3 tbs fresh rosemary, zest of one lemon, 1/4 cup olive oil, salt and pepper.
Rub all over leg of lamb day before or morning before you cook the lamb.
We usually cook our leg of lamb on the grill. Start with a preheated high grill and get a good sear on each side (about 5 minutes a side) then put the roast up on the rack, turn down head to med-high, close lid and cook (roast) until an instant read thermometer reaches 145 (rare), 155 medium, 165 well done- about 45 minutes depending on size of the leg. Remove and cover in foil to rest.
Or roast in oven at 400.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Berry Patch Farm/Supporting our local farmers!
http://www.berrypatchfarms.com/
Heaven on earth in Colorado for me. A short drive up Colorado Blvd to 85 to Brighton (ish) and you are whisked far far away from the city. As we pulled into the parking lot, the first thing we saw was an adorably rotund speckled piglet (named Bacon Bits)trotting around the parking lot. The kids leaped from the car as I put in in park, thrilled to see neighborhood friends pulling up in the car next to us and straight to the red barn to grab blue baskets and hop on the tractor that would take us to the strawberry fields.
As we drove out to the strawberry fields, the kids called out the various types of produce growing along the way, peppers, chilies (spicy!), melons, tomatillos, kale (lettuce), and then the strawberries.
In full disclosure, my childhood in England has me predispoed to the PYO/UPick visit. Once I am in the fields, seeing the bright, ruby red, shiny jewels peeking out from the heart shaped, verdant leaves, my heart starts pounding and I am consumed by a desire to leave no berry behind!
So, we picked and watched ladybugs, grasshoppers, and frogs frolikcing among the plants. Then back to the farm house for lemon cucumbers, purple peppers, edamame on the "vine" and roma tomatoes and fresh basil which I roasted and turned into a delicious pasta sauce that is now frozen to enjoy throughout the winter. We came home sunkissed, sticky and a little muddy, laden with berries and goodies.
Back 2 weeks later for raspberries which were ripe and ready and now 8 containers sit in my fridge for jam making. I have been collecting local produce this past week for preserving/canning/jamming and am so excited to build a store in the basement filled with the best of the summer. I have raspberries, peaches from a neighbors tree, plums from my tree, tomatillos from our garden (cool plant!), roasted peppers and Hatch green chilies. Whew - it's a lot of work but I am enchanted with the idea that I am buying local and preserving just as in the early days. My inspiration is coming from Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver and while Colorado's growing season and produce don't come close to that of Virginia's there is plenty to keep me busy. I am also committed to only buying seasonal produce - no more apples from New Zealand so canning/jamming will make sure we can enjoy peaches all year long. Whew - not sure when I am going to have time to do it but I will!!!
Look for the recipes on the next post. Please feel free to share any tips b/c I am definitely a novice at all this.
Heaven on earth in Colorado for me. A short drive up Colorado Blvd to 85 to Brighton (ish) and you are whisked far far away from the city. As we pulled into the parking lot, the first thing we saw was an adorably rotund speckled piglet (named Bacon Bits)trotting around the parking lot. The kids leaped from the car as I put in in park, thrilled to see neighborhood friends pulling up in the car next to us and straight to the red barn to grab blue baskets and hop on the tractor that would take us to the strawberry fields.
As we drove out to the strawberry fields, the kids called out the various types of produce growing along the way, peppers, chilies (spicy!), melons, tomatillos, kale (lettuce), and then the strawberries.
In full disclosure, my childhood in England has me predispoed to the PYO/UPick visit. Once I am in the fields, seeing the bright, ruby red, shiny jewels peeking out from the heart shaped, verdant leaves, my heart starts pounding and I am consumed by a desire to leave no berry behind!
So, we picked and watched ladybugs, grasshoppers, and frogs frolikcing among the plants. Then back to the farm house for lemon cucumbers, purple peppers, edamame on the "vine" and roma tomatoes and fresh basil which I roasted and turned into a delicious pasta sauce that is now frozen to enjoy throughout the winter. We came home sunkissed, sticky and a little muddy, laden with berries and goodies.
Back 2 weeks later for raspberries which were ripe and ready and now 8 containers sit in my fridge for jam making. I have been collecting local produce this past week for preserving/canning/jamming and am so excited to build a store in the basement filled with the best of the summer. I have raspberries, peaches from a neighbors tree, plums from my tree, tomatillos from our garden (cool plant!), roasted peppers and Hatch green chilies. Whew - it's a lot of work but I am enchanted with the idea that I am buying local and preserving just as in the early days. My inspiration is coming from Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver and while Colorado's growing season and produce don't come close to that of Virginia's there is plenty to keep me busy. I am also committed to only buying seasonal produce - no more apples from New Zealand so canning/jamming will make sure we can enjoy peaches all year long. Whew - not sure when I am going to have time to do it but I will!!!
Look for the recipes on the next post. Please feel free to share any tips b/c I am definitely a novice at all this.
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