Notes from Debbie's Kitchen
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Aaah, the anticipation of summer bounty (tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, green beans) is sweet... I can almost taste the tomatoes! Looks like it won't be too much longer now. In the meantime, here are a few ideas for using what's in this week's box -- hooray for the return of radicchio, three cheers for spinach, and yay for arugula! (I always love getting arugula... and potatoes and kale and lettuce and carrots and... well, I pretty much like everything!) - Debbie

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Let's start with strawberries. Still looking for ways to use your bounty of strawberries? Here's a nice twist on your glass of breakfast orange juice:

Strawberry OJ
Instead of just pouring yourself a glass of orange juice in the morning, consider taking a few extra minutes and making it into strawberry orange juice! Just wash, hull and halve or quarter a bunch of strawberries into a blender, add orange juice and blend! You can thin it out a little with water and it is still plenty rich and fruity. Proportions are not critical; this morning, I used a basket of strawberries and juice from one large orange, and probably thinned it with about a third of a cup of water. Made two 8-oz glasses of yummy juice! Very strawberry-y. ;-)


Radishes in Potato Salad
Just wanted to reiterate for the radish-phobic out there that they add great color and crunch, plus a little peppery bite to potato salad! So think twice before putting radishes into the trades box... I can already taste a potato salad made with radishes and arugula... mmmm! Remember the secret from last week: toss cooked cut-up potatoes with vinegar or vinaigrette while the potatoes are still warm, then fold in vegetables, then add additional dressing to taste.


Debbie's pan-browned radicchio
I know I repeat myself on this one, but it really is my favorite way to prepare radicchio!

Take the head of radicchio, quarter it, leaving the stem intact to hold the quarters together. [Pictures at left used an oblong variant of radicchio, so I just halved it instead of quartering it, but the principle is the same.] Sprinkle quarters with salt: with one hand, kind of fan each quarter out a bit, so that when you sprinkle the salt, it gets down in-between the leaves as well as on the outside. The best skillet to use is cast iron, but if you don't have one, use what you have. Heat oil in the skillet over medium heat, then lay the quarters in their sides, stems to the middle (fanned out pinwheel style). Using a spatula, press down on them, to encourage them to flatten out. Reduce heat to medium-low or so, cover and cook for a maybe 5 minutes, going in every so often to press down on them again with the spatula. They will start to turn brown (this is good). You don't want them to burn, but you do want them to get well browned and fully wilted. When they seem to be softening up well and flattening easier, carefully flip them over so they can brown on the other side, maybe another 5 minutes or so. Continue pressing down on them periodically. When they are done (they should be brown through-and-through and nice and soft), drizzle a little balsamic vinegar over them, down in-between the leaves, and cook another minute or so.

You can serve them just like this and they are delicious, but if you want to go one step further, slice up some mozarella cheese and lay it on top of the radicchio, cover and heat until melted, then serve. Or if you have the wherewithal (and an oven-proof skillet), slip the pan under a broiler, or into a very hot oven, so that the cheese not only melts, but browns a little bit, like the top of a pizza!

Pan-browned radicchio on pizza!
If you ever make your own pizza (I do this a lot - go here for my pizza dough recipe), coarsely chopping up the pan-browned radicchio and adding it as a pizza topping is major-yummo! Pizzas are a great way to eat a lot of things. You could make pesto with the basil, then spread that on your crust, then top it with chopped pan-browned radicchio... scatter some cubes of good mozzarella on top to bubble and brown in the oven... mmmm!


Speaking of basil, here's a recipe in the database worth repeating. I find it so very interesting, because it uses an herb normally considered savory in a sweet cookie; yummy, if you haven't tried it yet:

Lemon and Basil shortbread
from March 2006 sunset magazine, modified

1 C butter, room temperature
1/2 C sugar
1 tsp. grated lemon peel
1 tbsp. lemon juice
2 1/2 C flour
6 tbsp. cornstarch
1 tbsp. minced fresh basil leaves

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a food processor, whirl all ingredients until smooth. Press dough into two 8-inch cake pans with removable rims [or just pat the dough out into two evenly thick circles a cookie sheet like I do; I don't have the fancy pans]. Pierce dough all over with the tines of a fork, and (optionally) press tines of fork gently all around the perimeter to make a pattern. Bake until firm to the touch and slightly browned, about 45 minutes. Sprinkle hot rounds with 1 tbsp. sugar each [I'd say this is optional too], remove pan rims, if using, and while still warm, cut each circle into wedges [you won't be able to do this once they've cooled!]. Cool completely while still on pan bottoms (or cookie sheets) set on a rack, then separate wedges and serve or store airtight up to 1 week.

And here's a good one for the cabbage and carrots! Particularly good when we have cilantro at the same time...

Cabbage-carrot stir-fry burritos
onion and/or garlic
shredded cabbage (either Napa or regular is fine)
grated carrot
egg
soy sauce
hoisin sauce
ginger (either a little minced fresh ginger root, or a little ground dried)
flour tortillas
chopped fresh cilantro
coarsely chopped cashews (optional)

In a hot skillet or wok, cook chopped onion and/or garlic (and ginger, if using fresh) until starts to soften; add cabbage and carrot and stir-fry until cabbage wilts and maybe just begins to brown (you can add dry ginger in this step, if using); add a slightly-beaten egg (or you can just crack the egg into the pan and mix it a little right there) and stir to mix and coat veggies; it will cook quickly, and this is fine. Lastly, season with a little soy sauce and hoisin sauce. Stir to mix and heat until bubbly, then serve like 'wraps' in warm flour tortillas, adding a generous handful of chopped cilantro and some chopped cashews to each before rolling up. Serve with optional hot sauce of your liking.


Lastly, back to potatoes; here is a recipe for potato samosas by a famous Indian Cooking writer, Madhur Jaffrey. There are many variations on samosa dough and filling, but I trust Madhur Jaffrey. She's been adapting Indian recipes for the non-Indian cook for a long time.

Madhur Jaffrey's Potato Samosas

For the pastry:
2 C flour
1/2 tsp. salt
4 tbsp. oil
4 tbsp. water

For the filling:
4-5 medium potatoes, boiled in their jackets and allowed to cool
4 tbsp. oil
1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped [or chop up the bunching onions]
1 C shelled peas [frozen is fine; we don't have fresh peas right now]
1 tbsp. finely grated peeled fresh ginger
1 fresh hot green chili, finely chopped
3 tbsp. very finely chopped cilantro
3 tbsp. water
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground coriander seeds
1 tsp. garam masala
1 tsp. ground roasted cumin seeds
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 tbsp. lemon juice
oil for deep frying

To make the pastry:
Sift the flour and salt into a bowl.  Add the 4 tablespoons of oil and rub it in with your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.  Slowly add about 4 tablespoons water -- or a tiny bit more -- and gather the dough into a stiff ball.

Empty the ball out on to clean work surface.  Knead the dough for about 10 minutes or until it is smooth.  Make a ball.  Rub the ball with about 1/4 teaspoon oil and slip it into a plastic bag.  Set aside for 30 minutes or longer.

To make the filling:
Peel the potatoes and cut them into 1/4 inch dice and set aside. Heat 4 tablespoons oil in a large frying pan over a medium flame. When hot, put in the onion.  Stir and fry until brown at the edges. Add the peas, ginger, green chili, cilantro, and 3 tablespoons water.  Cover, lower heat and simmer until peas are cooked.  Stir every now and then and add a little more water if the frying pan seems to dry out.

Add the diced potatoes, salt, coriander seeds, garam masala, roasted cumin, cayenne, and lemon juice.  Stir to mix.  Cook on low heat for 3-4 minutes, stirring gently as you do so.  Check balance of salt and lemon juice.  You may want more of both.  Turn off the heat and allow the mixture to cool.

Knead the pastry dough again and divide it into eight balls.  Keep 7 covered while you work with the eighth.  Roll this ball out into a 7 inch (18 cm) round.  Cut it in half with a sharp, pointed knife. Pick up one half and form a cone, making a 1/4 inch wide (5 mm), overlapping seam.  Glue this seam together with a little water.  Fill
the cone with about 2 1/2 tablespoons of the potato mixture.  Close the top of the cone by sticking the open edges together with a little water.  Again, your seam should be about 1/4 inch (5 mm) wide.  Press the top seam down with the prongs of a fork or flute it with your fingers.  Make 7 more samosas.

Heat about 1 1/2 to 2 inches (4-5 cm) of oil for deep frying over a medium-low flame.  You may use a small, deep, frying pan for this or an Indian karhai.  When the oil is medium hot, put in as many samosas as the pan will hold in a single layer.  Fry slowly, turning the samosas frequently until they are golden brown and crisp.  Drain on paper towels and serve hot, warm, or at room temperature.

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