Strange Dreams

Last night I dreamed that Eric Ripert served me dinner.  I was eating alone (don't know why or where...)  I don't remember most of the food, however he served an amazing clam chowder.  The clams were still in their shells and it was the most delicious soup I remember ever eating. 

What does all this mean?  Well apparently (according to various web sources on the Internet) to see a chef in a dream represents transformation and changes.  Consider what is "cooking" in your life.  Eating alone signifies sadness or loneliness and the clams?  Well to eat them, foretells you will enjoy anothers prosperity.

Good and Quick

Tonight we had a simple and tasty combination. Sub Duck cooked lamb patties (vermont raised lamb with garlic,rosemary and lemon zest) on the grill. He also grilled Zuccini and corn on the cob which we mingled in a bowl to serve. Couscous provided the starch. Not at all complex but very tasty.We then had a salad entirely of greens from our garden including arugala, two kinds of lettuce, spinich, sorell, mint and sage. It is so great to be eating from the garden again. Good memorial day weekend to all !

Inspiration from the Market

We have now enjoyed 3 Sundays shopping at the Farmers' Market. There have been strawberries, green onions, lettuce, and asparagus. I think I could eat asparagus every day if I had an unlimited supply. Today the market inspired our menu planning. We came home with sorrel which became sorrel soup -- via the recipe from Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child - for our starter. Shrimp with Mango and Basil from Eating Well magazine followed the soup. The recipe called for a large amount of basil and scallions which we had bought at the market. Needless to say the mango and shrimp were not local. For dessert we ate stewed rhubarb topped with cut-up strawberries. Tomorrow night I will fix spinach salad - baby spinach -- another market inspiration.

As a side note, last week I made the Chinese noodle dish that several of Cooks to Spare have prepared. I used ground pork instead of turkey. It is easy to make and so delicious! We highly recommend it.

Fiddleheads !

Yesterday afternoon we saw a couple selling fiddleheads by the roadside. This is the top of fern plant, which, before it unrolls to open looks like the scroll t the top of a violin's neck. Only one or two varieties of fern produce a truly edible "head". We haven't seen the right type in our own woods so we stopped to buy these. This is truly a short time treat because the season is less than a month long. We boiled the ferns in plain water for ten minutes to remove any toxins. Though not deadly they can cause some distress eaten raw. We then sauteed them in olive oil with a bit of garlic. As you can see , they stay a lovely color green and the flavor was very nice. We had planned to have Salmon and Basmati Rice for supper and the fiddleheads went very well. This is a real sign of spring here in the northeast.

Our fist crop of salad greens is about a half inch tall and I just planted peas. Some of the local farms with greenhouses are offering spinach and soon will have lettuce as well. The whole "local" food scene is starting to get more interesting.

Corn Salsa

Life has been busy in April for us and from the look of our blog posts (or lack there of), for everyone else as well.  My husband's sister sent us a recipe for a simple corn salsa and we tried it this week.  We used it on steak and tortillas along with avocado as an added garnish.  It was delicious and very refreshing.  On lettuce the next day, it made a great vegetarian salad for me to take to work.

We did alter the recipe a bit by slightly cooking the red peppers with some garlic, and then adding the beans and the corn.  Here is the recipe.  I think it would go well with other meats or on it's own.

1 15oz caned black beans rinsed

1 c thawed or fresh corn, sweet is best

1/2 c each chopped red pepper and cilantro
3 TB lime juice
Red onion to taste
2 TB balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cumin