OKRA SUMMER SALAD

Okra Summer Salad

This hearty salad features some of summer’s most bountiful crops: okra, tomatoes and sweet corn straight from the cob, with black beans, onion and avocado. Canned beans and an easy dressing make preparation quick and easy

1 pound fresh okra, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 15-ounce can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 ear of corn (fresh sweet peak-season corn preferred)
1 large, white onion, diced
1 pound (about 15-20) cherry tomatoes, halved
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 ripe avocado

In a large pot of salted boiling water, blanch the okra until it's bright green, about 30 seconds. Drain well and allow to cool to room temperature. Cut the okra into 1/2 inch pieces, and discard the stems.
Add the okra, beans, corn, onion, olive oil, sea salt, and pepper to a large mixing bowl, and toss gently until the olive oil is evenly distributed. Chill for 30 minutes or more. Before serving, cut the avocado into 1/4-inch pieces and gently toss with the salad. Add more salt and pepper to taste if necessary.

OKRA

OKRA WITH SPICY SAMBAL

Ingredients:

10 okras – cut the ends off

Sambal – blended into paste

4 red chilies

2 shallots

2 cloves garlic

1 ripe tomato – cut into chunks

2 tbsp dried shrimps – soak for 15 minutes

Sugar and salt to taste.

1. Blanch okra in boiling water for 1 minute, drain well and set it aside.

2. Heat up frying pan with 2 tbsp of oil. Stir fry blended ingredients until fragrant and dry. Add in sugar and salt to taste. Continue to stir-fry until you see oil started to appears. Dish out and serve with the blanch okras.

TUNA PASTA

TUNA PASTA

Ingredients

• 375g/13oz dried linguine
• 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 3 tbsp finely chopped parsley
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 small chilli pepper, finely chopped
• 1cm/½in fresh ginger root, thinly sliced
• 450g/1lb carton or bottle passata
• 400g tin of tuna fish in oil, drained and roughly chopped
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Cook the pasta for 8-10 minutes or until al dente, and drain. 
2. Meanwhile, heat the oil and gently fry 2 tablespoons of the parsley, the garlic, chilli and the ginger for a few minutes until slightly soft. Add the tomatoes and continue to cook for another few minutes. Stir in the tuna and salt.
3. Toss the pasta with the sauce and serve sprinkled with the remaining parsley and freshly ground pepper.

OKRA PATTIES

Ingredients :

1 lb fresh okra or 1 (18 ounce) bag frozen cut okra

1/2 cup onion (chopped)

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 large egg

1/2 cup water

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 pinch garlic powder (potional)

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup cornmeal

oil (for frying)

Directions :

Combine cut okra, onion, salt, pepper, water and egg. Mix well. Combine flour, baking powder, cornmeal and garlic powder. Add to okra mixture, stirring well. Drop about 1/4 cup portions into about 1/2″ hot oil. Fry over medium heat until well browned on both sides. Drain on paper towels

BANANA BREAD BOTTOM CHEESECAKE

INGREDIENTS:

Servings: 10

Banana Bread Layer

4 bananas (as ripe as possible)


4 tablespoon vegetable oil


1 egg


½ cup sugar


1 teaspoon vanilla extract


1½ cups all-purpose flour


1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda


¼ teaspoon salt


1 teaspoon cinnamon

Cheesecake Layer 32 ounces cream cheese, softened

½ cup sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 cup milk

1 tablespoon gelatin powder

Caramel, for drizzling

PREPARATION

# Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C.

# In a large bowl, mash the bananas with a fork.

# Add in the oil, egg, vanilla, and sugar. Stir until combined.

# Add in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Stir until just combined. Don’t over mix.

# Pour the banana bread batter into a greased springform pan and bake for 30-40 minutes or until the top is set.

# In a large bowl, add the softened cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla. Whisk until combined.

# Microwave the milk until hot for about 2 minutes, and add in the gelatin powder.

# Quickly stir until gelatin is dissolved, about 5 minutes.

# Pour the gelatin mixture over the cream cheese and whisk again until smooth. 

# Pour the cheesecake mixture over the baked banana bread and cool for 3 hours or overnight. 

STEM OR CRYSTALIZED GINGER

Firstly, peel around 800g of ginger. You can do this really easily with a potato peeler — although the purists would use a teaspoon to scrape the skin off. If the ginger is knobbly, make sure you either pull the knobs off and use for something else, or get that teaspoon scraping properly! Slice the ginger against the grain, much as you would a fillet of meat — that is, don’t slice it lengthways, but across the tuber. You want to end up with 500-600g peeled and sliced ginger. Slice it as thin as you think you’d like it. For chocolate dipping you want it no more than 2mm thick. For use in scones, biscuits and the likes it can be a thicker as you’re likely to chop it up anyway.

Place the sliced ginger in a non-reactive pot and cover with enough water to cover it by 1cm. Bring slowly to the boil, then simmer five minutes and drain in a colander. Do this three times and when you’ve finished, put it back in the pot and pour on a litre of water and 850g of white sugar or unrefined golden sugar. You can use brown sugar but the ginger flavour will be masked and therefore less intense. Add two good pinches of fine salt and slowly bring to a gentle boil and then cook until the syrup resembles a light runny honey. If you have a sugar thermometer, or a digital thermometer that you can immerse in liquid, cook until it reaches 106C. At this point you can decant the ginger and syrup into sterilised jars, seal them while hot and leave to cool overnight at room temperature. The next day place in a cool pantry or store in the fridge and the ginger will last for up to 1 year. 

If you’d like to make crystalised ginger then once it’s ready and while it’s still hot, drain it into a colander over a bowl — don’t throw the syrup away as it’s a terrific cordial. Let the slices drain really well — you can even pat them a little dry in a tea towel. DON’T use kitchen paper as it will end up sticking to the ginger. Toss the slices, ideally while still a little warm, in 2 cups sugar and leave for a few minutes. Toss again and then lay the slices out separately (don’t overlap) on a cake rack. Leave at room temperature overnight covered loosely with a cloth napkin. If it’s really warm place them somewhere cool as the sugar will sweat. Next day store them in an airtight container and use within a few months. The sugar that comes off them can be used in ice cream or sorbet, sprinkled over baked rhubarb or quince, in fact in anything that would benefit from a grunty hint of ginger. 

Now for your Easter treats — simply melt chocolate (60-75 per cent cocoa fat works best for this) and dip the crystalised slices in it. Or, drop them in a few at a time (making sure no excess sugar is on them as it will affect the chocolate) and scoop out with a fork one at a time. Lay the pieces on a baking tray lined with baking parchment and leave to cool. Any holes where you can see the ginger, are best patched up with some chocolate drizzled from a teaspoon. Leave to set at room temperature, before packing delicately.

FREEZER GARLIC DILL PICKLES

FREEZER GARLIC DILL PICKLES
12 pickling Cucumbers, sliced thinly Onions, raw, 1 large, sliced thinlyVinegar, White, 2 cupsraw Honey, 1/2 Ccoarse Sea Salt, 3 tbspCelery seed, 2 tsp*Ground tumeric, .33 tbsp*dry mustard, 1 tsp (optional - forgot to add it)Dill weed, dried, 1 tsp Garlic, 2 cloves, minced (used garlic powder instead 2 TB)12 pickling Cucumbers, sliced thinly Onions, raw, 1 large, sliced thinlyVinegar, White, 2 cupsraw Honey, 1/2 Ccoarse Sea Salt, 3 tbspCelery seed, 2 tsp*Ground tumeric, .33 tbsp*dry mustard, 1 tsp (optional - forgot to add it)Dill weed, dried, 1 tsp Garlic, 2 cloves, minced (used garlic powder instead 2 TB)

RUSSIAN PICKLED TOMATOES

Marinated Pickled Tomatoes (малосольных помидоры)


Prep time
50 mins
Cook time
10 mins
Total time
1 hour

Bursting with flavor, this tomato and vegetable mix is delicious. Quick pickled with cilantro, basil and dill, I could drink the tomato sauce! Reminds me of a tomato Giardiniera - Marinated Pickled Tomatoes (малосольных помидоры)
Author: PetersFoodAdventures
Recipe type: Condiment
Cuisine: Russian
Ingredients
fresh whole tomatoes
8-10 whole peeled garlic cloves
fresh dill including the dill flower
bunch of fresh cilantro
bunch of fresh basil
2 carrots
1 large red bell pepper (capsicum)
2 black currant leaves
2 bay leaves
10 whole peppercorns
1 litre of Heinz Ketchup
1 litre of water
2 tablespoons of salt
2-3 chilli peppers to taste (optional for spiciness)
Instructions
Wash the tomatoes, remove the stems and carefully remove the core. Removing core is optional, I love the juicy burst of a whole fresh tomato when biting into it.
Peel carrots, chop into thirds, then quarter each piece.
De-seed bell pepper and slice into medium strips.
Prepare 3 Litre glass bottle by sterilizing it in a large boiling pot and let cool.
Place a base of cilantro, basil and dill in the bottom of the glass bottle, about ½ of your herbs.
Place a single row of tomatoes on top of the herbs and add about ⅓ of your garlic cloves, chilli peppers, bell pepper and carrots.
Place another layer of cilantro and dill, with a black currant leaf.
Add another layer of whole tomatoes and vegetables and repeat process until the jar is full and packed tightly with tomatoes and vegetables.
In a large pot, combine 1 litre of Heinz Ketchup and 1 litre of water.
Add bay leaves, peppercorns, salt, and bring mixture to a rolling boil.
Carefully pour the hot tomato liquid into the glass jar of tomatoes, fill just 1 inch from the top, as the liquid will settle. (put the bay leaves into the glass jar)
Close the lid, and leave hot tomato filled glass jar on the kitchen counter overnight to cool.
The following day, put the salted tomatoes in the fridge, where they should keep for up to six weeks.
Notes
Save some of the leftover tomato sauce to top up the jar. After you fill the jar and allow to sit for 24 hours, the tomato sauce levels decrease. You want to keep the tomatoes covered in sauce.

FREEZER DILL PICKLES

Ingredients
1 pound of cucumbers, or pickles, sliced 1/8-in. thin with skin ( I use a kitchen mandoline).
3/4 lb. of yellow onions, peeled and sliced 1/8"-in. thin
1 clove of garlic, minced
3 tablespoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons water
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup Heinz cider vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh dill weed, finely chopped

Preparation
1 Mix the sliced cucumbers or pickles, garlic, onions, salt, and water in a large 3-quart non-metallic bowl.
2 Let marinate for 2-3 hours.
3 Drain well (squeeze out as much liquid as possible), but do not rinse.
4 Add the vegetables back to the original bowl, then add the sugar, cider vinegar, and dill weed.
5 Stir well until all the sugar is dissolved.
6 Pack in plastic freezer containers, leaving one-inch of room at the top for expansion during the freezing process.
7 Seal the containers well then label and date.
8 Freeze them until needed, and always defrost under refrigeration.
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FREEZER PICKLES

FREEZER PICKLES

Great Grandma Bonnie's Freezer Pickles Recipe

A bread and butter pickle recipe to knock your socks off!

Prep Time

5 min 

Total Time

5 min 

Ingredients

• 7 cups pickling cucumbers, sliced
• 1 green bell pepper, sliced
• 2 onions, sliced
• 1 cup white vinegar
• 2 cups white sugar (this is an old fashioned recipe when sugar wasn't thought of as being as bad for you as it is today. Feel free to use less sugar!)
• 1 tsp. celery seed
• 1 tbsp. kosher salt

Instructions

1. Peel pickling cucumbers.
2. Mix vinegar, sugar, celery seed and kosher salt.
3. If your sugar isn't dissolving well into the liquid, heat up in the microwave for 30 to 40 seconds until your sugar is no longer gritty in the liquid.
4. Mix in remaining ingredients and place into the refrigerator for 24 hours before placing in a freezer container and freezing.
5. Remove from freezer and let thaw as needed.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH GRATIN

Butternut Squash Gratin  (Italian Parsley)

Note:  This recipe wasn't written down formally. It was alluded to in an old Time-Life cookbook called Vegetables. This is how I did it.

1 butternut squash

2 Tablespoons all purpose flour

about 8 Tablespoons of chopped Italian parsley

4 peeled large garlic cloves, pounded in a mortar until a paste

about 1/4 cup olive oil

salt and pepper

Peel the squash and cut in half, cleaning out the seeds and fibers.  Cut the squash into cubes about 1/2 inch wide and long. Mix the pounded garlic and parsley together.  Put the cubes into a big bowl and add the parsley and garlic mixture and toss until distributed.  Add the flour, some salt and pepper, and toss again.  Put the squash into a deep casserole, (coated with olive oil or Pam) and drizzle the olive oil over the top. 

BUTTERBEAN AND DELICATA SQUASH TARTINE

BUTTER BEAN AND ROASTED DELICATA SQUASH TARTINES

(makes ~ 3-4 pieces of toast)

Ingredients:

• one Delicata squash, halved, and cut into 1/4-inch slices
• one 14 oz. can of butter beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 tbsp minced fresh oregano
• 2 tsps lemon juice
• 3 tbsps olive oil
• salt
• Aleppo chili pepper flakes (to taste)
• Maldon salt, for finishing
• levain bread round, sliced into 3/4-inch slices

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 400° F.
• In a mixing bowl, lightly toss squash slices with a bit of olive oil and salt. Spread evenly on a cookie sheet and roast in the oven for about 25 minutes, flipping about halfway through, until golden brown.
• Meanwhile, add butter beans, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, one tablespoon of water, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt into a food processor, and process until smooth. Add more water if necessary, a teaspoon at a time, until you reach a smooth and creamy consistency. Set aside.
• In a small bowl whisk together the minced oregano with the lemon juice, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and a small pinch of salt. Set aside.
• Toast the bread. I used the broiler on my oven to get a nice char after the squash was done roasting, however, you can use a toaster if preferred.
• Assemble the toast: spread a layer of the butter bean puree on the toasted bread, top with roasted squash, then drizzle with a hefty amount oregano oil. Sprinkle with Aleppo chili pepper flakes to taste, and top with finishing salt. Enjoy, preferably while ingredients are still warm.

CROSTINI

Crostini 1: crusty grilled sourdough bread, smashed avocado, charred corn, cherry tomatoes, fresh basil, crumbled feta, lemon zest, kosher salt + pepper. This one is basically summer on toast. You can’t beat its simpler classic flavors. Everyone love it.

Crostini 2: crusty grilled sourdough bread, fig preserves, burrata cheese, prosciutto, fresh fig, fresh thyme + basil, flaky salt + pepper and a drizzle of honey (or honeycomb). Possibly my favorite combo of all, this one is just mouth-wateringly GOOD. But I do really love figs, and I also really LOVE burrata.

Crostini 3: crusty grilled honey whole wheat bread, goat cheese, fresh cherries, fresh basil, aged balsamic vinegar, olive oil, flaky salt and pepper. Umm, YUM… cherries all summer long… please and thank you!

Crostini 4: crusty grilled honey whole wheat bread, melted cheddar cheese, blueberry jam, fresh thyme + honey + fresh blueberries for garnish. Promise this one is not as weird as it may seem. It’s surprisingly delicious, and if you love the combo of sharp cheddar to sweet fruit you will love this toast.

Crostini 5: crusty grilled sourdough bread, blue cheese, grilled peaches, chipotle honey + toasted pumpkin seeds and a sprinkle of flaky salt. OK, I lied, this one might just might be my favorite. The combo of bold blue cheese, to sweet grilled peach, to smoky sweet chipotle honey is truly one of the best things ever. DO IT.

Crostini 6: crusty grilled sourdough bread or honey whole wheat bread, melted Brie, fresh strawberries, basil, aged balsamic vinegar, sweet honeycomb (or just a drizzle of honey) and a pinch of flaky salt. 

PASTA WITH FRESH TOMATO SAUCE

pasta with checca sauce

 

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prep time

8 mins

total time

8 mins

 

Checca sauce is a fresh tomato sauce with basil, scallions, garlic and cheese.

Author: adapted from Everyday Italian by Giada de Laurentiis

Recipe type: Main

Cuisine: Italian

Serves: 4 as a main course or 8 as a side

ingredients

• 1 pint ripe grape or cherry tomatoes
• 2 scallions, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 2 cloves garlic
• ⅓ cup coarsely grated parmesan cheese
• 10 fresh basil leaves
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 8 oz. fresh mozzarella, cubed
• 1 pound orecchiette, or pasta of your choice

instructions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
2. Cut the tomatoes in half and place in the bowl of a food processor. Add the scallions, garlic, cheese, basil and oil and pulse until it becomes a coarse mixture.
3. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and transfer to a large bowl.
5. Pour the sauce over the pasta and toss well to coat. Sprinkle the chunks of mozzarella over the top and serve immediately.

BAKED FIGS WITH GOATS CHEESE

Baked Figs with Goat Cheese


Easy 15-minute Baked Figs with Goat Cheese, walnuts, honey and sage recipe. These baked figs make for an elegant savory appetizer.


6 medium-sized figs
80 grams or 2.8 oz soft goat cheese
2 tablespoons chopped walnuts
1 tablespoon chopped sage
2 tablespoons honey
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

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1. Preheat the oven to 200 °C or 390 °F. Cut off the stems and make an X cut in the top of each fig half way through. 
2. Stuff the figs with soft goat cheese using a teaspoon. Sprinkle some chopped walnuts and sage over your stuffed figs and drizzle them with honey. Add salt and freshly groundblackpepper to taste. 
3. Broil for about 5 minutes or until they look soft and release juice. Serve them warm or cold with a glass of wine. Enjoy! 

RECIPE NOTES

Here are some more ideas on what to pair figs with:

1. Try to substitute goat cheese with ricotta, Parmesan, mozzarella or blue cheeses like Gorgonzola or Stilton;
2. Adding capers or olives highlights the sweet taste of figs and adds an extra savory note;
3. A drizzle of lemonjuice over figs will add a tangy touch to your figs;
4. If not vegetarian, try wrapping figs in prosciutto ham and bake;
5. Balsamic vinegar or balsamic reduction pairs nicely with figs;
6. Try using almonds, pistachios or pecans instead of walnuts;
7. Substitute sage for rosemary, thyme or basil;
8. Try adding warm spices like star anise, cloves, cardamom, nutmeg or cinnamon;
9. Serve figs as an addition to your cheese plate and don't forget the wine!