Watermelon gazpacho

This gazpacho calls for two batches of vegetables, each processed differently - one batch finely chopped, the other pureed.  I used the food processor for the first batch and the blender for the second.  Everything needed to be roughly chopped first.

Ingredients:
1 red onion - one half for each batch
2 red bell peppers, one for each batch
1 big or 2 smaller cucumbers, peeled and seeded, half for each batch
1/2 of a jalapeno, again divided equally - increase if you want more kick

 One half of each of the above ("batch one") goes into the food processor to be finely chopped, not puréed.

 The rest of the above vegetables, plus the following (collectively, "batch two"), will all go into the blender to be puréed:  2 cups tomatoes, 6 to 7 cups of chopped seedless watermelon , and 1/4 cup cilantro.  A watermelon the size of a medium big cantaloupe will give you a good amount.

 My blender works better with diverse textures, so I'm jumbled up all the chop of batch two and threw it in. (It did not all fit at once.)  Once all of these were puréed, I added 1/4 cup of red wine vinegar , and then another tablespoon.  I used Brandywine tomatoes and a fairly sweet watermelon , and, even so, the vinegar just seemed to make it sweeter.

 Then process and mix in the finely chopped vegetables from batch one.  Chill and serve, garnished with sour cream or diced avocado .

 The recipe I had did not call for bread , which I thought was the sine qua non of gazpacho.  I thought that the results of the above needed more fortitude. I had on hand about 2 tablespoons of crumbs from toasted whole wheat pita, so I added that, and I think that more breadcrumbs would be welcome.  The recipe also calls for salt and 1 tablespoon olive oil.

Cake for August 21 (sat-fat free birthday, that is)

Mix 1 c. roasted almond oil with 2 c. sugar.
Sift together 3 1/2 c. cake flour, 1/2 t. salt, and 2 t. baking powder.
Mix 1 c. milk with 2 t. vanilla.
Mix the flour mixture into the oil/sugar mixture, alternating in thirds with the milk mixture.
Whip 8 egg whites.  Add them to the above mixture.
Cook at 375 in 2 8-inch pans for 30 minutes, checking near the end.

Icing:
Microwave 20 squares of Sharffenberger petite baking squares (or figure 4 squares to an ounce) along with 1 T. roasted almond oil, whisking about every 30 sec for a total of 2 1/2 min. until you can whisk it smooth.
Mix 1/2 c. sugar with 1 T cornstarch and whisk it into the chocolate mixture.
Whisk in 1 c. milk.
Microwave for a total of 3 minutes, whisking it every minute, then every 30 sec near the end.  It will be close to boiling on the last 2 or 3 whisks.
Let it cool and add 1T. vanilla, whisking every few minutes as it cools down.

Tian from two gardens

M gave me squash and eggplant, which I took to be from the roof.  And neighbor Ryan Ahalt gave me tomatoes and an invitation to harvest from his garden while they are on vacation.  He had parsley.  Hence a tian:  roast 1 lb each of eggplant and squash, sliced 1/4" and sprayed with oil, at 375 for 15 min.  Process 1/2 baguette, 2T fresh parsley, 1 1/2 t. fresh thyme,  2 t. oregano, and 4 oz. cheese.  Slice 1 lb. tomatoes.  Layer as follows:  1/2 of the eggplant and 1/2 of the squash, topped by a drizzle of oil and pepper, then 1/2 of the tomatoes topped with 1/2 of the crumb mix.  Then repeat these layers.  Then drizzle on 1/4 c. of vegetable stock. Cook for 1 hour on 375. 
Notice that my garden contributed nothing.  Its glory was two days ago, with that spaghetti squash.  Since then, exactly 5 pole beans and 2 cherry tomatoes.  Ryan doesn't have that much more sun than I, but he does have his garden up against his white garage wall on the north, and maybe that reflects some sun onto his plants.

Faith-based cuisine? A Pie for all.

Brunch for the Senneshes needed to be gluten-free (Joel and Louise), lactose-free (Louise), fat- and bean- and meat-free (Reeves) and sucrose-free (Robin).  Joel offered the notion of faith-based cuisine.  AND Robin wanted to use her garden's second spaghetti squash.  (Reeves by taste, if not by faith, might be in the spaghetti-squash-free camp.)  I made a leek and fennel pie on tortilla shells (using eggbeaters), with parmesan on one side and garden cherry tomatoes and some of my rageddy basil atop the crunchy spaghetti squash.  I cooked the leeks and fennel on the stove, then put them, with eggbeaters, in the tortilla shell, then topped half with parmesan.  Meanwhile I roasted the squash for an hour at 350, then strung it out and placed it atop the filled pie and baked the creation for about 45 min.  I like the crunch.  It's in the middle, below.  I have no idea how to zoom in on it.

Yuliya's Börek

Yuliya is delving into Turkish cuisine.  Here is her recipe for Börek, which is just a little like spanokopita:

Spinach, Vidalia onion, flat leaf parsley, dill, mint, basil, Jerusalem spices. Mix with sheep feta, Russian farmer's cheese, pepper (no need for salt: feta can regulate it). Yufka dough (you can use phyllo dough too). 
Butter, milk, eggs. (She makes a custard out of the milk and eggs and places it between leaves of the Yufka.  Not sure where the butter goes, but as we know, it comes in handy anywhere.)

Bake on 375 for 20 min, then on 350 for 22 minutes. 

Divine!

Next installment:  Yuliya's King Salmon with red wine and olive oil.  As in, caught by Yuliya and brought back on the airplane from Alaska by Yuliya.

As it turned out, it didn't need an installment.  I just cooked the salmon in olive oil on medium high heat and then halfway through added maybe 1/4 cup red wine.  The salmon didn't need anything else. 

Spanish inspiration: Salmorejo and Almond Cream

M and I recently got back from a trip to Spain. It was lovely, if too short. We visited Granada and Madrid, saw some good friends, and took in all kinds of beautiful things. The culinary highlight was without doubt our tasting menu experience at La Oliva in Granada. La Oliva is, as the proprietor Francisco is quick to tell you, not a restaurant. It is a specialty foods store. He became an accidental chef of sorts after doing a tasting for a couple that was so happy that they spread the word loudly and proudly on Trip Advisor. He does a meal a few times a week in his shop. Him and his family members use a hot plate in the back to prepare 15 or so different small plates that pair with 5 different local wines. It was amazing! We tried all manner of local products and dishes and had a lovely time hearing his explanations. I was particularly impressed by the fine olive oils - they were incredibly flavorful and spicy. My favorite tasted kind of like cut grass.

I recreated one of the first plates we enjoyed at La Oliva this past weekend as an appetizer for a meal with our friends T and G. It's mild and pleasant. Even their 10 month old loved it.

Romaine Lettuce with Almond Cream
Cream serves ~8 as an appetizers (get extra lettuce if there's a crowd)

Make almond cream:
Place 1/2 lb Marcona almonds, 1 clove ("tooth") garlic, 1-2T EVOO, and ~1/4c warm water in a food processor and process until almost smooth. Add more water if needed for desired consistency. Add salt to taste if the almonds are not already salted.

Rinse, separate and pat dry 1 head of romaine lettuce. If you have enough lettuce to be choosy, use the medium sized leaves - ones that fit nicely in the hand without a whole lot of excess leafage flopping around.

Place a spoonful of almond paste in the center of each lettuce leaf and arrange on a plate to serve.

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We followed that with Salmorejo, adapted from this recipe by Jose Andres. The link includes a very energetic video of him making it on TV. We tried salmorejo in Jaen, the olive oil capital of Spain, where we stopped on our drive to Granada. We ordered soup and a plate of the ubiquitous Jamon, thinking that this would be a light lunch, and somehow accidentally ordered an enormous plate of mystery meat (which turned out to be some part of the cow's neck - paraspinalis? platysma?) Of course, with a dish with this few ingredients, high quality ingredients is key.

Salmorejo
Serves 4 (small dinner portions)

Hard boil 2 eggs
Place 1.5lbs plum tomatoes (~5 tomatoes), quartered, in a food processor. OK to leave the skins and seeds on.
Add 6 slices of "rustic, day-old white bread" with crusts removed. I used Whole Foods' paesano loaf - I think sour dough would work well, too. I also bet that it'd be fine with the crusts on, as long as the crusts aren't too hard.
Add 2 garlic cloves, crushed and peeled.
Add 1.5T sherry vinegar (or 1T red wine vinegar and 1/2T balsamic vinegar).
Add 1/4c EVOO, salt and pepper to taste.
Process all of the above until almost smooth.
Top with sliced eggs, torn pieces of Serrano jamon (use ~4 slices or 1 oz total), and a drizzle of EVOO.
Serve with additional bread.

We were fortunate enough to wash this all down with some delicious red wine from Tagonius (near Madrid) that we had brought back from Spain, as well as a delicious Maryland red from Blackfoot (?). And, of course, delightful company.

Rant of Lamb, or the Gluten-Free Lunch that had some Glaring Glitches

We had a lovely birthday lunch for Louise out on the patio, but it did not unroll as smoothly as I'd hoped.  All of us brought our dietary parameters to the table:  Louise and Joel are going gluten-free, Reeves had his usual limitations, and I was on day 1 of the low-fiber diet for my upcoming colonoscopy.  I had planned to do rack of lamb, cottage cheese bread, cauliflower with plum sauce, and a cake for Louise.
I made the cottage cheese bread out of Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free bread flour. 

I used the recipe on the bag, substituting roasted almond oil for melted butter and eggbeaters for eggs.  The recipe called for proofing the yeast in the 1 3/4 c. of milk called for, heating the milk to 110 degrees.  In the interests of making it a little tastier, I substituted cottage cheese and yogurt for 1 1/2 c. of the milk called for, and substituted hot water for the remaining 1/4 c. of milk so that I could proof the yeast.  I added 1 c. of onions.  I realized to my dismay that I couldn't add sesame seeds or dill seeds, as I am forbidden seeds.  Happily I saw on my recipe the note that Jody had substituted wheatberry.  I started cooking the wheatberry and realized that I was losing the whole gluten-free idea.
By this time, I was getting a little exasperated.  Gluten-free bread seems like an oxymoron anyway, since I thought that the dough traps the carbon dioxide produced by the yeast with the sheets of gluten that build up from kneading.  Indeed, Bob adds guar gum and xanthan gum to his flour to perform this function.  I think it also gummed up my bread machine:  I can't get the pan out anymore.  It had been leaking a bit into the spinner underneath, and now it seems like it's permanently glued.  The bread was ok. 
Undaunted, I went on to make birthday cupcakes out of Bob's All-Purpose Baking Flour. 

The recipe I found for gluten-free cupcakes mentions using Namaste All-Purpose Gluten-Free Baking Flour.  It has xanthan gum.  Bob's All-Purpose Gluten-Free does not.  I just loaded the recipe with baking powder and hoped for the best.  Again, I used roasted almond oil and eggbeaters.  I think the chocolate glaze carried the day.
The lamb was very docile.  I discovered that I was nearly out of garlic, but then I found the mustard mixture I'd left on the countertop at Easter (see following post).  (Yes, it had returned to the frig on Easter.)  The only alteration was using bread crumbs from the gluten-free bread, and that worked fine.
My main takeaway about gluten-free cooking is never, never taste the dough.  If you had a bad habit of enjoying dough as you cook, you will be cured.  Cooking seems to help the taste.  Compared to the dough or batter, the products are divine.  Enough said.

Update:  The FedEx guy "dropped off" the new breadmaker on Tuesday.  I could hear it land on the front porch.  Right before leaving for my colonoscopy on Wednesday, I got it going with a whole wheat, wheatberry onion loaf.  Forget low fiber!  Forget gluten-free!  (Just put in yeast, 1 t salt, 1/2 chopt onion and 1/2 c wheatberres w/ 1 c water, warmed on power level 5 for 10 min in the microwave.  Then add King Arthur Whole Wheat, maybe 3 c or until it looks right.  I forgot the oil.)  When I got back, ravenous, my bread was 8 minutes away.