Basil Pesto Dip with Pita Chips

Cooking Light is one of my favorite magazines.  They have all of those cool exercise activities that may be tried once, but it feels so good just to be looking at them. No longer do they put yogurt in everything, and butter is even allowed.   The big plus to me is the seasonal dishes that are approachable on a week night.

One little recipe in the July issue looked like a great ditty for this family that loves its chips and dips when friends are over.  Taking a closer look at the recipe, it became clear that it is basically fresh pesto with some light sour cream and lemon juice.  Oh yes, I can do that!  The only part that took a bit of planning was the pita chip bake.  Summer has totally arrived on the delta, and that oven does not get turned on after 8:00 AM. Just baked these little pita lovelies in the morning and all was well.

Is this really yummy, or just healthy, you ask.  Umm, after three days, we’re on our second batch!  Yummy?  Oh my yes!  Healthy? Let’s just not discuss portion control right now. 

Basil Pesto Dip

1 cup light sour cream

1/4 cup basil pesto

2 tsp fresh lime juice

Directions

1.  Mix all ingredients and chill for 30 minutes.

Pita Chips

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2.  Split pitas, cut each half into 8 wedges.  Place on a baking sheet, spray with olive oil, and sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper and kosher salt.  Bake for 11 minutes or until crisp.

Notes:

*  Our sour cream was a mixture of regular and light and it held up to the lime juice just fine.  My hunch is that light sour cream with the lime juice would be too runny.

*  The original recipe called for lemon juice, but I’m just on a lime kick these days.

*  Truly, this is addicting!

*  The pesto was made with basil from Lon’s farmstand.

Basil Pesto trifecta

Summer is here and the livin’ is easy.  My strategy this year is to not only enjoy the local bounty today but to also save some for a rainy day.  So many years we just gorge ourselves on the local produce, and honestly think we never want to see it again.  Then the winter months arrive, and surprise, surprise, we’re ready for a taste of summer.

At our local Farmer’s Market and in Lon’s farm stand, basil is ruling the roost.  So, pesto it is!   A few batches of pesto creates treats for months to come.

The Cooking Light magazine has bunches of wonderful summer time treats in the current issue, go figure, but several with pesto caught my eye.  This was not one of those nicely planned, hmmmm, I’m making pesto, what else can I use it in this week kinds of things.  Oh no!  This was one of those, I want to make this, and that, and that other thing, and oh my, what a surprise that they all involve basil pesto.  And at this point some people have their radar way up, considering the word “craving” and may I just stop you right now.  No, nope, nada.  This is really just about the love of the green.  Really.

Warning, this is another recipe that will make measuring mavens crazy.  These proportions worked for three hefty bunches of basil.  But really, pesto is forgiving … you can do it!

Enjoy the basic basil pesto along with the sandwich pesto mayo and pesto dip options!

Basil Pesto

Ingredients:

3 bunches basil, leaves removed

8 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

1 1/2 cups pine nuts

4 oz parmesan, grated

1/3 cup olive oil

Kosher salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1.  Add add basil leaves, garlic and pine nuts to food processor.  Pulse several times until roughly chopped.  It should look like bulgar at this point.

2.  Add parmesan and pulse processor again.  Slowly add olive oil until it gently puddles at the top of the pesto.  More oil may be needed depending on the temperature that day.

3.  Taste.  Add salt and pepper as needed.

Notes:

*  The parmesan adds a bit of saltiness, so do taste the pesto after adding the cheese and before adding the salt.

*  Don’t get frightened of salt here .. up to a point it just makes the flavor burst!

Asparagus with Parmesan Crumbles

Looking for a way to dress up some roasted asparagus?  This is a nice little ditty. It has all of those important components:  delicious, pretty, local seasonal asparagus.  This dish started with some good luck:  I got the last two bunches of the good stuff from the Arata farm stand, leaving the tub empty.

Recipe adapted from Ellie Krieger on The Food Network.

Ingredients:

• 2 slices whole-wheat bread, crusts removed
• 2 hard-boiled eggs
• 3 tablespoons chopped parsley leaves
• 1/2-ounce (1/4 cup) freshly grated Parmesan
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Pinch pepper
• 2 pounds asparagus, washed, ends snapped off

Directions:

1.  Pulse the bread in the bowl of a food processor until it becomes fine crumbs. Spray a nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat pan over medium-high heat until hot. Lower heat to medium, add bread crumbs to the skillet and toast, tossing often, until crumbs are golden brown and toasted, about 5 to 6 minutes. Remove from heat and cool completely.

2.  Grate eggs medium microplane grater, omitting one of the yolks. Combine the egg, bread crumbs, parsley, cheese, salt, and pepper in a medium-sized bowl and toss to combine.

3.  Grill the asparagus until firm, but tender, about 4 to 6 minutes, turning once.

4.  Arrange asparagus on a serving platter and top with Parmesan-Egg Crumb Topping.

Notes:

• The original recipe called for just one egg, but the yolk to whites ratio just didn’t work for me, hence the whites from a second egg.
• We only used about half of the topping on our asparagus, and it was plenty.
• I’d make this again for guests, but for our family dinners, simply grilling that lovely asparagus with a bit of olive oil and kosher salt still rules the day!

The Strawberries are Here!

The most beautiful red strawberries are now available!  Chan’s on Walnut Blvd has strawberries at their road side stand, or go right on into their field for a U-Pick hey day.  They also sell some lovely herbs and red onions that they grow at the end of each row of strawberries.

The stand at the corner of Highway 4 and J4 is also open.  Yahoo!  They must have a business name, but in these parts we simple call it “the strawberry stand on the corner.”  Clever, eh?  Last year they added a smallish garden with various veggies and some blackberry vines.  In less than a year, those vines have grown over 6 feet.  Oh, it is going to be a berry good season!

The Potato Salad

Oh Easter!  While ham is the traditional center piece of the traditional family meal, we take the opportunity to pig out in our own way.  See, at this house, warm weather, a celebratory day, and some time for lingering and hanging out lake side means just one thing:  ribs!  These are not your boil then bake ribs, nor your grill and add some bottled sauce at the end ribs.  Oh no.  These are the gently prepped and rubbed with secret spices the day before, then smoked low and slow on the smoker for at least 4 hours with the patience of Job, while gently misting mop sauce on the works of art.  Yes, those ribs.  And I was to make the sides.

Unlike Thanksgiving, which is all about the sides, this was all about the ribs.  Potato salad is a must, but while I go for anything but the traditional style, the rest of my clan, and most importantly for this day the BBQer himself, likes that regular stuff.

Side story:  Lately, I’ve become a big follower of the More Than Burnt Toast blog where it feels like a conversation with a wonderful, grounded friend.  Nice. The most recent post was for the Barefoot Bloggers group who make and share recipes by or based on Ina Garten, aka The Barefoot Contessa.  These folk really share the love and admiration for her work.  So, trusting the blogosphere once again, I went to Ina for the perfect recipe.  And yes … Bingo!

Sources:

• Potatoes from Arata Fruits
• Dill from Chan’s

New Potato Salad

Ingredients:

3 pounds small red potatoes

Kosher salt

1 cup good mayonnaise

1/4 cup buttermilk

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard

1/2 cup chopped fresh dill

Freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup finely chopped celery

1/2 cup finely chopped red onion

Directions:

1.  Place the potatoes and 2 tablespoons of salt in a large pot of water. Bring the water to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, until the potatoes are barely tender when pierced with a knife. Drain the potatoes in a colander, then place the colander with the potatoes over the empty pot and cover with a clean, dry kitchen towel. Allow the potatoes to steam for 15 to 20 minutes.

2.  Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, buttermilk, Dijon mustard, whole-grain mustard, dill, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1 teaspoon of pepper. Set aside.

3.  When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut them into quarters or halves, depending on their size. Place half of the the cut potatoes in a large bowl. While the potatoes are still warm, pour enough dressing over them to moisten. Transfer to a plate.  Repeat with remaining potatoes, and again, transfer to the plate. (Doing this in batches prevents the potatoes from losing their shape.)

4.  Put the plate of lightly dressed potatoes in the freezer for 20 to 30 minutes, or until cooled.   Add the celery and red onion, 2 teaspoons of salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper. (As the salad sits, you may need to add more dressing.)  Toss well, cover, and refrigerate for a few hours to allow the flavors to blend. Serve cold or at room temperature.

Notes:

* The steaming technique worked like a charm!

*  Actually, I used smallish red potatoes because that was what I found at Arata farm stand.

*  It took everything in me not to muck this up by adding a bit of dill pickle, some hard boiled egg, then just keep the additions going with some red bell  pepper and anything else that seemed to fit at the moment.  But, this turned out perfect … all about the potatoes and nothing else to distract it.

*  Naturally, a nice green salad would accompany this.  My “go to” vinagrette is a bit sweet to serve with ribs, so I tried another Barefoot Contessa recipe and its a true keeper,  simple enough to let the mixed greens shine.

Smoked Salmon, Asparagus, and Goat Cheese Rolls

Its time to be honest here. Creativity? Oh, I do wish! Planning ahead? Likewise. Allowing enough time before a big event to drop back and punt? In another life. But this time, for once, it all worked just like in my dream!

So, it was time for our Gourmet Dinner Club to get together for food, wine and a bunch o’ fun. C and J planned this cooking party thing (very brave, VERY brave!) and each of the other couples brought appetizers to nibble on while we cooked. Let’s see here, Spring … asparagus, salmon … something light. Found a perfect recipe for these little lovelies here.

But then it got dangerous …. I got thinking. Presentation. This is not my forte, and I know that Ron and Sandi who got us started on this whole adventure really pride themselves on presentation with their group. After a bit of tossing ideas around in my mind, I came up with the perfect plan: put the salmon rolls on a fake plant! Haha! Actually, these little tasty morsels look just like little spring buds just as I anticipated. Although I’m not sure which was funnier: the look on my husband’s face when I finished putting it together and declaring it perfect, or when I walked through the door at our friend’s house and they realized the potted plant I was carrying WAS the appetizer! Regardless how you present it, this is a great little make ahead winner!

Ingredients:

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons chopped shallot
• 3 ounces soft fresh goat cheese (such as Montrachet), room temperature
• 1/4 cup trimmed peeled chopped raw asparagus
• 1/2 teaspoon minced lemon peel

• 6 ounces thinly sliced smoked salmon

Directions:

Heat olive oil in heavy small skillet over medium heat. Add chopped shallot and sauté until beginning to soften, about 1 minute. Transfer to medium bowl. Mix in goat cheese, chopped asparagus, and lemon peel. Season filling to taste with salt and pepper.

Place sheet of plastic wrap on work surface. Using 1/5 of salmon, form 6×3-inch rectangle atop plastic, overlapping salmon slightly. Spoon 1/5 of filling along 1 long side of rectangle, leaving 1/2-inch plain border. Using plastic as aid, roll up salmon into tight log. Repeat with remaining salmon and filling, forming 4 more logs. Refrigerate logs until firm, about 2 hours or overnight.

Remove plastic from logs. Cut each log crosswise into 4 pieces.

Notes:

• The asparagus was FRESH from TK’s Best farm stand. (Just had to brag on that!)
• Don’t know if this is in the new Trader Joe’s cook book, but it should be.
• The fake plant was picked up at Home Goods. That store is my total addiction.
• The stakes holding the salmon rolls are just those little metal stakes covered with floral tape from Michaels. I just twisted them around a screwdriver to create an itty bitty ledge so the salmon rolls wouldn’t slowly slide down the stakes during the evening.
  

Let the 2009 Season Begin!

Ladies and gentlemen, children of all ages, let it be known that the 2009 farm stand season is officially open! TK’s Best and Arata are both open and serving happy lovers of local food.

But first, story time. There once was a little road, Walnut, connecting many growers of fine foods. It was a small, two lane road, connecting the little town of Brentwood with a little two lane winding road leading to Larger Towns. As Brentwood grew, and the Larger Towns grew, more and more people drove down Walnut Road. These were busy, busy people with busy, busy lives and they all have to get to important places very fast. Over time, the little winding two lane road was widened into a newer, wider winding road so the important people could quickly speed to their important destinations. Little Walnut was overwhelmed and getting tired. The growers of delicious foods still grew those delicious foods and sold them at family farm stands at the side of the road, but it became dangerous for the buyers of those delicious foods to pull over on this busy road to buy them. No one was happy. Over time, some of these important people figured out how to use taxpayer money to build a By Pass so they did not have to drive through any more little two lane roads while going to their important places and doing their important things. Now the very busy important people can go around the little two lane road and the growers of delicious foods and the people who like to buy delicious foods directly from the farmers have Walnut to themselves once again. And everyone was happy.

Saturday, I got the call from C that TK’s Best was open! Naturally, I planned an errand route to include it. At this point, there is obviously a limited selection, and most of the food is brought in from Central Valley farms, but it is a good start to the season. Driving up the remainder of Walnut Avenue, I checked out the other stands … closed, closed, closed. Chan’s strawberries are looking healthy, but they are still finishing up that ripening process.

Driving back home, down beautiful Walnut Avenue, Arata caught my eye. Were there people there? Really? A quick U-turn and back to their stand made me customer #7 for the season. Oh, lucky me! Nicholas and Michael were both there, again with a few items from their land and more from other farms they support.

The season has officially started!

Harvest Time Starts for 2009

The sun is shining, the blossoms are starting to appear, and the non-profit Harvest Time is amping up for the 2009 season. Calloo Callay! What a joyous day!

Anyone who has visited the area’s U-Pick orchards or many farm stands has certainly picked up one of Harvest Time’s handy maps at the check out. These free maps show where their members are located, what they grow, and approximate seasons they are open. Nice, very nice.

Naturally, they also boast a very handy website, Harvest4You. There is a handy Find Farms option in case you want to check out a farm that you read about in your paper’s food section or on the menu at a restaurant. But, the real area to see is Pick a Product as it is a gem! Here you’ll find a list of everything from Almonds to Wine; just click on the word at it will take you to a links for their members providing that food or drink. How handy is that?

Our very local paper, the Brentwood Press ran an article about their first meeting of the year. Primarily it was just a bit of blah, blah, blah to me as I just want to know when I can get my asparagus and strawberries to kick off the eating season. I’d never make it as a farmer, but as an eater I excel! Any local person may also note one oddity here: they met at Sweeny’s? Huh? This is a very Brentwood Cafe (note: no website link) crowd with a few power lunch at Caps folk thrown in. Sweeny’s is a fine, long standing, local dining and drinking establishment, don’t get me wrong. But again, I just don’t see the local farmers mixing it up with the young 20 somehthings at the bar and all.

If you’ve already been to the incredible Ferry Building in San Francisco and want to come out and get the authentic experience, check out Harvest4You and make it a total success.

Oh My Darling Clementine

Wolfe Ranch mandarins and clementines .. oh yum! They are offering some weekend U-Pick, but one look at the fields on my most recent trip told me that appropriate boots are not a part of my wardrobe. The pickings at the table were slim, which I took as a good sign. That must mean that they are selling lots of their juicy fruits to locals. It doesn’t get much better than that!

The plan was to buy a bag of fruit, give away half, then find a recipe for the rest. What I forgot to include in my plan was the appetite of one teen age boy! But hey, if that is my biggest problem with this venture, life is sure sweet.

If you are in the Bay Area and want to take a quick trip down a country lane, past both new and established orchards, over a little wooden bridge, and on back to a quiet magical place frozen in time, this is the side trip for you. The worries of the world simply melt away along this journey.  Just remember to bring your boots.

Side note: the owner is quite sad that their signature purple bags are no longer available. She was bummed about that as she individually stamped each brown bag with their unique rubber stamp.

Marvelous Manderins

Have you ever had the experience where you go out looking for one thing and magically find something else? And loved it?

This weekend, a journey up Walnut Avenue looking for nuts (go figure, with a street name like that!), lead to a discovery of a whole new world right in my back yard. There are one or two families with nut businesses in Brentwood, and to the best of my recollection they were off Walnut. Signs abound for this and that fruit and vegetable stands on this street, so there was no need to check the exact address. Sure, some of you would check the address which is easy to find from an ad in a local newspaper, but that’s just not how I fly.

Nuts I did not find, but the lure of a sign for Wolfe Mandarins intrigued me. Off the road I went. Signs lead me to the end of that road, and onto a dirt road. Past small homes and a larger historic estate. Round the bend. Across the sweetest little wood bridge. Right up onto the Wolfe property and to a small overhang with a table holding the most vibrant citrus ever. Wow! Mind you, all of this is just a stone’s throw from various strip malls with all of the usual corporate brands. Simply amazing.

The little sign said that they were out harvesting citrus, but to go

ahead and purchase mandarins if you so choose and leave the money in the till. Yeah, really.

Now I have a lovely bag of Mandarin Oranges to include in a salad for our small Monday Night Football social gathering this evening. Wolfe’s is now on my “best” list. With a short journey to a magical place and time right here in the neighborhood, who could resist?