People always ask me where I come up with ideas for cooking and recipes. There’s not one answer because inspiration can come from a variety of different things:  a stroll down the produce aisle or through the farmer’s market, a childhood memory, a particular smell or color, and in the case of the following recipe, mowing the lawn.

Under the back corner of our deck near the stairs to the lawn is a large patch of mint. If you’ve grown mint before, you know it can easily take over wherever it’s planted, and once it does, it’s difficult to get under control. Since the mint was there long before we moved in, my main way to keep it under control is to run over it with the lawn mower. On this particular afternoon, I thought it was a shame not to use it for something, so I spared its life and vowed to come up with a recipe that day (I knew if I didn’t, I wouldn’t get around to it and just have that much more mint to mow over next time).

The rest of the idea came from my kitchen counter – a four pound bag of navel oranges and the rack of ribs I was planning to bbq that afternoon. The idea of the freshness of mint and orange together to help cut the sweetness of bbq sauce seemed ideal. With a half bag of rice I spotted laying on the kitchen counter, I thought a rice salad would work great.

This comes together pretty easily, and is delicious. A couple things that will really boost the flavor are getting a great, crunchy toast on the almonds, and chilling the salad before you eat it. Because this recipe can appeal to vegetarian and vegan tastes as well, it’s going to be my go-to salad this summer for potlucks, picnics and bbq. And I’m not going to mind a bit if there are leftovers!

Minted Orange Rice Salad

Refreshing Summer Salad

dressing:

• 1 ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 4 Tblsp olive oil
• 1 cup mint leaves, (loosely packed) chiffonade
• zest and juice of two medium oranges
•  – lemon juice if needed

• 2 cups long grain rice, uncooked
• 3 ¾ cups water
• 1 cup green onion, sliced
• 2/3 cup currants
• ½ cup slivered almonds, toasted
• mint leaves for garnish , optional

1. Zest the oranges and place zest in a medium bowl.
2. Juice the oranges and remove ¼ cup juice and add to the water. Put the liquid in a large saucepan and bring to a boil with the two cups of rice. Cover and reduce heat, simmer for 20 minutes or until tender. Remove from heat and pour rice on a cookie sheet or large plate to cool.
3. Measure remaining orange juice and add lemon juice if needed to make a total of 1/3 cup. Add remaining dressing ingredients and whisk to combine. Set aside.
4. When rice is completely cool, toss gently together with green onion, currants, chiffonade mint and toasted almonds. Add the dressing and toss well.
5. Cover and chill for at least one hour.
6. Adjust seasoning to taste, garnish with mint leaves if desired and serve.

Makes 12 servings, about ½ cup each.

Looks as if this will be the last razor clam dig of the season out on the coast, and it should be a great one with the glorious weather forecast and the minus tides. Grab a license, a bucket, a clam gun and GO!

I pretty much hated all seafood BUT clams when I was a kid. Because my grandparents had a commercial fish cannery and fresh fish market, it seemed like they were always abundant. On spring mornings, my parents, grandparents, aunt, uncle, brothers and cousins would all pile into assorted vehicles and head down to the beach. I don’t know that us kids would really dig too many clams, but we always ended up with several limits. My fondest memory is always Easter weekend – we’d go for a morning dig, and returning to the house, my mom and grandma would start cleaning the clams. The rest of us would head out to the yard for an egg hunt, and after it was over a wonderful breakfast of fresh orange juice, bacon and fried razor clams or clam fritters would be ready. And boy could my gram make a killer fritter! She used a lot of egg, so they were almost like a thin crepe filled with moist, juicy clams. Gram must have been at the stove for an hour cooking those fritters, because we never ran out of them.

Today, I’m rarely able to get to the beach for a dig, but my mom and brother Todd are carrying on the tradition and always happy to share their spoils with me. While mom cleans the clams, my brother has become the “Fritter Master”, with a variation on gram’s recipe that is delicious. Using less egg and more cracker crumbs, Todd’s fritter is more like a loose patty than a runny crepe, and it’s good. I like them at room temperature just as much as hot from the pan. As a kid, the right condiment for them always seemed to be ketchup, but my grown-up taste buds prefer a sprinkling of sea salt and just a bit of Tapatio - YUM.

Our family fritters aren’t really so much of a “recipe” as they are “just do this” – you can’t really screw these up as long as they’re not cooked at too high a temp or cooked too long – the clams will get tough and rubbery – and you can adjust it to fit your taste and “style” you like. Make sure to have a fresh pot of coffee to serve them with and definitely some crispy, thick-sliced bacon. Just writing about it makes me think I may have to call in sick to work this weekend and head out to Westport for some clams -

Brother Todd’s Clam Fritters  

• One limit of razor clams (15) – cleaned and ground (medium), and any juice. You should have between 2 and 3 cups depending on the size of the clams.
• One package saltine crackers, crushed (36 squares)
• Two eggs, beaten
• 1/2 tsp. Johnny’s seafood salt, or some garlic salt and pepper to taste

Mix everything together and let stand about 5 minutes.

Heat a pan over medium and add enough oil to cover the bottom generously – it doesn’t work well with just cooking spray or a non-stick pan!

Drop by tablespoon into the hot oil, and turn when starting to brown, probably three minutes per side.

End of summer and time to start cleaning out the garden. I’ve got loads of tomatoes, onions and herbs, the basil is done for the season and I’ve got some delectable ears of corn just waiting to be eaten. Make it simple – a salad.

I love to grill corn, and I’ve done it both in the husk and out of the husk directly on the grill. All you need is a bit of butter, salt and pepper, and it just doesn’t get any better. But I also like to grill it and cut the kernels from the cob to use in my corn and leek saute’ or in salads. This salad gets a lot of flavor boost from shucking the corn and putting the naked cobs right on the grill – some of the kernels get nice and brown and I think you get a lot caramelization with this technique.

This is also one of those salads you can add to or change out ingredients and still get terrific results: try green onion in place of the red, add some heat with a seeded and chopped jalapeno or red pepper flakes in the vinaigrette, use more bacon or chunks of cooked ham or shredded chicken in place of the bacon, you could even forgo the cheese and bacon and add some shelled edamame to boost the protein for a vegetarian/vegan-friendly version.

This would be a great salad to serve with the amazing fresh shrimp Po Boy I just had on a recent trip to the ocean. Click here to check out the story of a terrific weekend chef and her delicious fresh food. 

Roasted corn and tomato salad with Gorgonzola and bacon  

• 3 ears grilled corn
• 3 tomatoes, chopped
• 1/3 c. chopped red onion
• 3 Tblsp chopped basil
• 3 slices thick cut bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
• 1/3 c crumbled gorgonzola cheese
• 4 Tblsp olive oil
• 4 tsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• pinch or two cayenne pepper

1. Cut the corn from the cobs and place in a large bowl with the tomatoes, onion and basil.
2. In another bowl whisk together the oil, vinegar, minced garlic and spices.
3. Toss the vinaigrette with the corn mixture.
4. Chill for 30 minutes before serving.
5. Adjust seasoning and stir in crumbled bacon before serving.

One of my newer holiday traditions has become the email I receive from my friend Aileen the week before Thanksgiving with the question, “What am I taking to my Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Eve events?”

Because she tells me she “can’t cook,” I try to figure out something easy that won’t require much time in the kitchen, difficult prep or an ingredient she’ll never use again. Based on what she told me her friend was fixing for the holiday meal, I hit on this really simple trio of appetizers. These are great to keep handy for something “quick” when you just found out you have to take something to an office function, cocktail party or other event you weren’t planning on cooking for.

The first is not my own creation, but I’ve been using it for years and it’s a winner - “Curry Artichoke and Egg Spread.” A recipe developed by the “Frugal Gourmet” Jeff Smith, it’s a great spreadable for crackers, crostini or baguette and is hearty without making you feel stuffed – I mean who wants to get stuffed on appetizers before a big meal anyway, right? At a Thanksgiving a few years back I served this, and a friend took one bite, grabbed a fork and claimed the bowl for herself. I use a little less sour cream and mayo than called for, but you should experiment and see what you like for your own taste.

Along with the spread, you can serve these “Easy Spiced Nuts”  (click here for recipe) – I like having something a little salty with cocktails and these really hit the spot. You can use any kind of nut you like, and I used up some leftover bits from some baking projects that was a combo of peanuts, walnuts, pecans, cashews and almonds – delicious! These were unroasted and unsalted, but you can easily use roasted/salted nuts by just decreasing the salt in the recipe. These are also great if you make holiday treats for gifts – a small cello or glassine bag of nuts tied with ribbon is a great addition to your homemade goodies.

With heavy holiday food on the menu, I like to have something that has a bite and cuts through all that weight. As I love pickles, I wanted to do a quick refrigerator pickle that would be a great complement to the other appetizers, and came up with “Quick Pickled Green Beans and Carrots.” These are good after a few hours, and get better if left in the brine 24-48 hours. They’re also an awesome snack to have on hand. I just pour the brine off after a couple days and keep them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week (and they’re a low-point snack for those of you following the Weight Watchers PointsPlus program).

Remember – the holidays can become busy and stressful faster than you can throw a snowball, so don’t let your holiday cooking add to it! Try one of these easy recipes, relax and bask in the compliments!

Pickled Carrots & Green Beans

•  2 large carrots, peeled and cut into sticks about the same size as green beans
• 1/2 pound green beans, cleaned and trimmed
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 1/2 cups vinegar, (rice, cider, redwine, or any mix thereof – just don’t use a seasoned vinegar)
• 2 Tbsp salt
• 2 Tbsp honey

1. Arrange the vegetables in a glass or other non-reactive container – a pie plate works great.
2. Over high heat bring the water, vinegar, salt and honey to a boil. Kill the heat and pour the brine over the vegetables, making sure they are covered by brine.
3. When cool, transfer to a sealable container and refrigerate.

Weight Watcher PointsPlus – divide into 4 servings – 1 serving = 1 point

The other day my afternoon walk with the dogs took us by a house up on the corner that went into foreclosure last winter. Although someone has continued to mow the lawn all summer, I noticed as we walked past that blackberry bushes had completely taken over a corner of the yard and were loaded with plump, perfectly ripe berries. You know that saying, “The blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice”? Well these were about the plumpest, blackest, sweetest berries I’d tasted all summer. I figured I’d paid $4+/pint a few times at the produce stand and Farmer’s Market the month before, so these bushes were a literal gold mine of yummy savings. I returned awhile later with my iPod, a clean bucket and spent an hour picking (and eating) berries.

So what to do with 8 pints of fresh blackberries? We had blackberry-sauced pork chops, fresh blackberries in our morning cereal and on waffles, sprinkled on yogurt parfaits and berries on ice cream. I even made a delicious sweet ‘n sour sauce using the blackberries and some cherry vinegar I’d made earlier in the summer, and there were still a few pints to go. What to do?

A couple weeks earlier, my friend Leslie had given me an old recipe box she’d found at a yard sale. The recipes seemed to be from the late 1930s and early ’40s, and many recipes were cut from magazines and newspapers and glued on to the back of “Dayton Public Library” file cards. There were hand-written cards and cards that were neatly typed – lots of depression-era stuff for “eggless” recipes and a couple notes like “use this to substitute when cost of butter and eggs is too high.” After lots of tossing, editing, and trying to figure out what some of the ingredients, measurements and cooking methods were, I kept about a dozen cards to experiment and play with. One of them was simply titled “Fruit Coffee Cake” – an easy and not too sweet recipe that lets the flavor of the fruit shine. The original called for milk, which I tried, but I made it a second time with sour cream and liked that version better – more moist and a little less sweet.

I also tried this recipe using fresh peaches and it was delicious – just omit the extra Tblsp of flour sprinkled over the blackberries before you put the crumb topping on. I think the variations to fruit (and probably spices) are limitless – I’d love to know what you try in your version!  

And what did I do with the rest of the berries? I macerated them with some sugar, and when they were nice and juicy, oozing with all that delicious blackberry goodness, I froze them in ice cube trays and stored them in a freezer bag. They’ll be easy to throw into smoothies, baked goods and sauces for the next couple months and bring back that sweet taste of summer.

Fruit Coffee Cake

3 Tbsp shortening
4 Tbsp sugar
1 large egg
1 2/3 c. flour + 1 Tbsp flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c. sour cream (or milk)
2 cups fresh blackberries

crumb topping 
1 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour
2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamonCrumb topping

Heat oven to 375 degrees

1. Use a mixer with paddle attached and cream together shortening and sugar in mixing bowl.
2. Add egg and mix thoroughly.
3. Sift together 1 2/3 c flour, baking powder and salt, then add to mixing bowl alternately with sour cream, mixing until combined.
4. Put mix into an 8″ x 8″ greased pan. The dough is very sticky, so use a sheet of waxed paper sprayed with vegetable cooking spray to push the mix evenly into pan.  
5. Cover evenly with blackberries, then sprinkle 1 Tblsp flour over top of berries.
6. Crumb together topping ingredients and sprinkle evenly over berries.
7. Bake 25 to 30 minutes.

“I feel a recipe is only a theme, which an intelligent cook can play each time with a variation” - Madame Benoit

ROASTED CORN & TOMATILLO SALAD

The blustery weather yesterday didn’t keep me from heading over to the West Seattle Farmer’s Market to see what was new (that and the fact that it was another NASCAR Sunday at our house). I love seeing what shows up with the change in seasons. Along with a ton of squash and pumpkins, I was really drawn to the corn, which I never get enough of when it’s in season, and know it won’t be around much longer. We’ve been eating fresh corn a couple days a week the last month or so – usually grilled – but I wanted to make some kind of salad and figured grilled corn was the perfect base for it. A couple more spins around the market to get inspiration from some more fresh stuff (and a stop to get a huge, fresh-baked cookie as well) and here’s what I came up with – roasted corn and tomatillo salad. It’s fast, simple, has great fresh and clean flavors, and it’s vegetarian/vegan friendly.

The longest part about assembling this salad is grilling the corn. The dicing and grating of the other vegetables and mixing the dressing help fill that time pretty quickly. I love how grilling the corn brings out so much sweetness in it, and the contrast/bite of the vinegar, lime juice and red onion in the salad is a great complement to it. This is delicious on its own, or throw some grilled chicken or pork with it and wrap it in a tortilla. If you’re feeding more people, you can easily add (or substitute) diced red and/or green pepper, grated or julienned jicama, diced cucumber or even black beans to make a meatless main dish (depending on how much you add of the other ingredients you may need to increase the dressing accordingly).

Roasted Corn and Tomatillo Salad

• 2 cups grilled corn kernels (corn from about 2 large ears)
• 3 medium tomatillos (about 2 oz. each), husked, rinsed and diced
• 2 large tomatoes, diced
• 1/2 cup grated carrot
• 1 cup cilantro, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 large red onion, chopped

dressing

• 3 Tblsp olive oil
• 1 1/2 Tblsp rice wine vinegar
• juice and zest of 1 medium lime
• 1/2 tsp garlic salt
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp ancho chili powder
• 1/8 tsp black pepper
• pinch of red pepper flakes

Mix together all ingredients for dressing and whisk until combined.

Toss together remaining ingredients with dressing. Refrigerate for 15 minutes before serving.

Divide into 6 equal servings about 1 cup each.

Weight Watchers PointsPlus = 3 points per serving

This is a little cooking school/restaurant trick for cutting lots of cherry tomatoes as well as small round produce things like seedless grapes, pitted olives, tomatillos, etc.

Start with two 5″ or larger, clean plastic lids – the kind from yogurt, cottage cheese or margarine tubs….

....place one lid upside down on a cutting board and fill it with the washed fruit or vegetable you want to cut....

 

....place the second cleaned lid on top, lightly pressing down with your hand....

 

....use a serrated knife to cut through all the produce at once. If what you're cutting is very small, you can rest your knife along the edge of the bottom lid, otherwise, cut straight through the center....

....there you go!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cutting is done in less than half the time. This is also a safe way to teach younger chefs at home how to cut this type of round produce.

 

The small farm I grew up on in eastern Washington butted up to a 20 acre plot that lay empty half the year. Every spring that huge patch of dirt was slowly transformed from a barren brown eyesore into a lush, green field of corn. When the corn was still just leaves a few inches high, my brothers and I would race each other down the rows, the small bright green stalks acting as our lane markers. Later in the summer when the corn was as tall as we were, it was the perfect spot for long games of hide and seek. When the stalks were at their towering peak and the corn was nearing harvest, I loved to wander down the rows on hot summer nights. With just the moonlight overhead and the wind softly rustling the leaves, I could believe I was transported into a dense, tropical jungle with all kinds of exotic animals hiding behind the thick growth of forest the corn had become.

And finally, there was the corn itself! How can anything beat the sweet, delicious, creamy taste of ripe corn picked off the stalk and brought directly to a pot of water boiling away on the stove? The farmer who owned the field always brought us a bushel of corn to enjoy at harvest, and I just never seemed to get enough of it. We grew corn in our own garden too, but the highly anticipated harvest of the cornfield corn just seemed to taste better and more delicious.

I still look forward to the end of summer and the arrival of fresh-picked corn at the farmer’s market. I’ve come up with a quick and easy recipe to use fresh corn right off the cob – it’s crunchy, sweet, creamy, and the leeks really add to the flavor. If you’re not fortunate enough to have any on hand, frozen corn is a pretty good substitute. Although this recipe makes an ample side dish for four people, I sometimes make it just for myself to enjoy at lunch and dinner – I think it even tastes great cold!

Scott’s sauteed corn with leeks

• 2 Tblsp butter, divided
• 1 Tblsp olive oil
• 1 large ear of corn, shucked and silk cleaned off (or one 10 oz. bag frozen corn, thawed/drained)
• 1 medium leek
• 3 Tblsp cream
• 1/2 Tblsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)

Trim any yellow and tough ends from the end of the leek. Cut in half lengthwise and place in a bowl of cold water to clean – you may have to change the water for exceptionally dirty leeks. When clean, remove from water, dry and cut lengths into julienne strips – set aside.

Using a sharp knife, stand the corn cob on its nose in a large bowl and cut the kernels off the cob – save any milk that might come from the cob while cutting.

Heat a large cast iron or other heavy bottomed pan over nearly high heat. Add 1 Tblsp of the butter and the olive oil. When the butter browns, add the corn kernels. Let them sautee for at least a minute without stirring. Stir the corn and add the leeks and sautee for another minute longer. Add the remaining butter and sautee for another two minutes, stirring occasionally ( you want the corn to brown/char a bit so don’t stir too much).

Add the cream, stir and allow the water in the cream to evaporate for about a minute. Add the salt, pepper and red pepper flakes (if using), stir again, and serve.

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