Tomato Soup

Yes, it's a little hot out this summer for hot soups, but that's when the tomatoes ripen.

I was amazed that the Bible doesn't have a recipe for this basic soup.  I was even more surprised that NONE of my cookbooks had a tomato soup recipe that fit my tastes.  Off to the internet for a quick survey of popular recipes.

Most tomato soup recipes include carrot for sweetness and as a flavor enhancer.  I didn't feel like going back to the grocery store and skipped it, opting for more basil instead.

I did like the opinion of one site that has you put in the tomatoes with the skin on, then strain the soup after puréeing to get out the seeds and skins.  Whoever first decided that tomatoes should be peeled had way too much time on his hands.  It isn't difficult to peel a tomato, just more time-consuming than not doing it.

2 lb fresh tomatoes
1/2 C chopped onions
1/2 C chopped celery
1 Tb olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 C water
2 Tb fresh basil or 2 tsp dried basil
salt & pepper to taste

1.  In a large saucepan, sauté the onions and celery in the oil until the onions are softened, but not brown.  Add the garlic and cook for another 5 minutes.

2.  Roughly chop the tomatoes and add to the pot.  Add the water and basil.  Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.  Cover and simmer until tomatoes are completely cooked, 30 to 45 minutes.

3.  Remove from heat.  Purée in the blender (you may need to do it in two batches).  Return to pot via a mesh strainer to remove seeds, skins, and "strings".  You can use a spoon to press through as much liquid as possible.

4.  Return soup to a simmer.  Taste, and add salt and pepper as needed.  Serve hot.

Difficulty rating :)

Gazpacho

And now to finish off page 129 of GH Illustrated.

Gazpacho is kind of like a soup version of salsa.  You can make it as mild or hot as you want.  And the best part is you just chop the veggies into smallish chunks and toss them in the blender.  Takes about five minutes to make.

This soup, being all veggies, is considered a first-course soup.  I have made it into a main dish by adding cooked fish, chicken, lentils, or the wanna-be crab in the photo.  Served with bread or chips on the side, it is a refreshing lunch on a hot day.

I used low-sodium V8 instead of tomato juice to add a touch of complexity.  And because there wasn't any low-sodium tomato juice available.  Just leaving it out there as an option.

And I got to use my own tomatoes!

3 C tomato juice
2 Tb olive oil
1 lb tomatoes
1 cucumber, peeled
1/2 onion
1 small green pepper
1 clove garlic
salt and pepper to taste
1 small jalapeño (optional)

1.  Chop all veggies into pieces no larger than 1-1/2".  Working in two or three batches, purée veggies, juice, and oil in blender.  Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.  Pour into large serving bowl.  Cover and chill until ready to serve.

Difficulty rating  π

First harvest

I never thought it would happen, but the tomatoes finally ripened!  It started when the sun came out more than three hours one day.  The first ones I picked totaled up to a whopping four ounces.  That's about 50¢ in the market.  And they weren't much bigger than grape tomatoes.  I did pick them too soon, and they were kind of, shall we say, solid.  I waited until they had been red for a couple of days after that.

Mainly, I'm glad they ripened at all before the plant died.  All that enthusiasm and optimism after the first few weeks is turning into the familiar "killed it again" mantra.  I've gotten 22 ounces of tomatoes off the plant, and a few green ones are still hanging on for dear life.

After  a slow start, the eggplants started growing very well.  Then that plant also started dying.

The corn is nowhere near the height of an elephant's eye, so I thought it was a bust.  Then, on the same day, they all started to bud, or whatever those tassel-like things are.  Guess I'm growing pygmy corn.  Except for the one stalk that someone - possibly the gardener - stepped on.  And the other stalk that flat-out died.

So, my $40 investment has resulted in maybe $3 worth of tomatoes.  Maybe I should just stick to pulling gigantic lemons off the well-established lemon tree.

On Hiatus

The day after my tea party, Papa Smurf died unexpectedly.  I had already written and scheduled posts up to this point, so I just let them run while I dealt with stuff.  Yes, I pre-write when I've been cooking a lot and hold on to the posts for when I'm uninspired.

Now I'm taking a couple of weeks off.  Please enjoy the previous posts.  Maybe look at the history to discover something you missed.  I'll be back before the end of July.

Vodka-Cured Salmon

This is another one of those very easy, massively impressive dishes that you have to start way in advance.  As in two days.  But it really is one of the easiest things I've posted.

When buying a salmon fillet, you want to look for a good color that runs clear through the meat, but any farm-raised salmon will have been fed food to make it as pink as possible.  For cured salmon, I suggest the freshest piece of fish you can find, free of blemishes, and sushi-grade if possible.  YOU ARE NOT GOING TO COOK THIS FISH.  If the idea of eating raw fish freaks you out, you might as well stop reading now.

I am basing this recipe on Emeril Lagasse's, but simplifying it a tad and scaling it for four.  His recipe serves 8, which is better for the average dinner party, but I had one pound of salmon in the freezer, so that's what I made.

Serving the salmon is another trick.  Once you have it thinly sliced (and I recommend doing this in front of your guests so they can be impressed that you actually made this yourself), what do you do with it?  You can serve it alone, with a drizzle of olive oil or a light vinaigrette.  Or, do what I did and create a salad to make it a main dish.  Since I was zesting a lemon, I used the juice to make a lemon vinaigrette (olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and a touch of sugar).

And it is VERY salty, which makes sense because you're pressing a quarter-cup of salt into it.  If any of your guests have issues with salt, maybe you should plan this for another gathering.

I swear that's a lemon

1 lb salmon fillet
1/4 C Kosher Salt
1/2 Tb Sugar
2 Tb Fresh Dill or 2 tsp Dill Weed
3 Tb grated lemon zest (2 normal supermarket lemons)
2 Tb Vodka (lemon or another citrus flavored, if possible)

1.  Place salmon skin-side down on a layer of plastic wrap.  Remove any pin-bones with kitchen pliers (as opposed to the ones you keep in your garage for dirty work).

2.  In a bowl, combine curing ingredients to make a paste.  Spread cure evenly over flesh.  Cover with another piece of plastic wrap, then wrap up the whole thing in more plastic wrap to make a tight package.

3. Place fillet in a baking dish, skin-side down.  Find something heavy, like a brick, diving weights, gold ingot, or that ugly ceramic platter you got last Christmas from someone who meant well.  (I used a one-gallon can of paint.)  Wash the weight if possible, wrap the bottom of it in plastic wrap, and place it on the fish.  You're going to force the liquids out of the salmon so it cures in only one or two days.  Without the press, you're looking at a week.

4.  Put the whole shebang in the fridge for 24-48 hours.  Unwrap and rinse off all of the cure.  You can feel that the texture is more leathery than when you started, but it shouldn't be hard.

5.  On a flat cutting board, slice the salmon crosswise into very thin slices on a steep angle.  This cuts the connective tissue so it's easier to chew.  Arrange on plates and serve.

Serves 4 as a main dish, 8 as an appetizer.

Difficulty rating  :)

Baked Beans

I made some black beans a while back and only cooked them an hour, so they would be a bit firm.  That's how many black beans for salads are cooked.  Papa Smurf didn't like that.  He wanted soft, mushy beans.  I can do that.

This recipe is for your basic barbecue-style baked beans.  The best beans ever were from a restaurant called Love's that went out of business years ago.  I was surprised that these came pretty close.  It's all about the rich, thick sauce against the creamy softness of the beans.

Just because this recipe is easy, doesn't mean it's fast.  Plan 16-20 hours ahead.  I'm serious.

1 C dry Navy or Great Northern beans
1/4 C minced onion
1/4 C tomato paste
2 Tb brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
4 whole cloves

1.  Sort beans to remove any stones or shriveled beans and rinse.  In a large casserole, cover dried beans with two inches of water.  Let sit 8 hours or overnight.

2.  Drain off water.  Stir in remaining ingredients and turn on oven to 225º.  When oven is ready, pour 1 C boiling water into casserole.  Stir to combine.  Cover and place in oven.

3.  Bake beans 8-10 hours.  Check every 3 hours or so and stir in more water if beans start to look dry.  Sauce should be very thick, but there will be some water at the bottom of the pot that you can stir into the rest of the casserole.  Allow to rest 15 minutes before serving.

Difficulty rating  :)

Guacamole

Avocados are in season, so I made a simple guacamole.  This one is flavored entirely by spices, kind of like those packets in the market.  I use less salt.

The lemon juice is more a preservative than an ingredient, which is why I suggest squeezing an actual lemon instead of using bottled juice, but I liked the sourness it added.  You can substitute lime.

2 very ripe avocados
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp onion salt
1/4 tsp granulated garlic
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp chili powder
1 tsp fresh lemon juice

1.  Slice avocados in half and scoop out flesh into a bowl.  Mash with a fork.

2.  Work in seasonings, taste, and adjust if necessary.  Squeeze lemon juice into bowl and work into dip.

3.  Serve immediately, or store in refrigerator with plastic wrap touching any surface of the dip which would be exposed to air.

Difficulty rating  π

Chocolate-dipped Strawberries

I debated whether it was worth posting this as a "recipe".  But there are tricks you should know before making chocolate-covered strawberries at home.

First of all, these do not keep.  You get 24 hours maximum before the berry separates from the chocolate.  Make these last when you have a party.

Always wash the berries before beginning, then pat dry.  Very dry.  Moisture will not only prevent the chocolate from sticking, it will accelerate the spoilage process.

You can melt the chocolate in the microwave.  Put semi-sweet chips on Defrost for 1 minute at a time, stirring after each minute.  Once you can stir it smooth and it falls in ribbons, you're ready to go.  It can be reheated if it starts to firm up before you're done.

Before starting, cover a cookie sheet or plate with waxed paper and put it in the freezer for 15 minutes.  This will make the chocolate set up faster and coat more evenly.

The fancy tuxedo design is very easy to do.  You need two bowls, one white chocolate, one dark.  Dip the berry in the white first and let it harden.  Then dip it quickly in the dark on an angle once for one lapel, then once on the other side, leaving a V of white to represent the shirt.  With a piping cone, add button dots and even a bow-tie in dark chocolate.  You could also do stripes, by dipping the berry in a base color, letting it harden, doing another color, etc.  Or roll the berry in crushed nuts before the chocolate hardens, or sprinkles.  Still, nothing beats the classic plain, dark chocolate coating.

Difficulty rating  π

Blender Cheesecake

Cheesecake is not difficult to make.  And it impresses the hell out of your guests.  It does require one special piece of equipment, a spring-form pan.  Otherwise, you're never getting the thing out.

Many cooks are afraid of the dreaded cracks in the top of the cake once it cools.  It happens if the cake is cooled too quickly, and is why you should leave it in the oven once the oven is turned off for at least half an hour.  Still, sometimes cracks appear even before the cake has finished baking.  That's why sour cream icing was invented.  No one will ever know.

This is something you can, and should, do ahead.  It's great to get the dessert out of the way the day before you need it.  But don't ice it until shortly before your guests arrive, or the icing may dry out.

One cheesecake will serve at least 12 people.  If that is way more than you need, I have made this version easy to cut in half or thirds.  One half will make a shorter 8" or 9" cake.  One third of the recipe will fill a 6" spring-form.

Crumb Crust
1-1/2 C graham cracker crumbs (measured after pulverizing in a ziplock with a rolling pin)
1/2 C butter, melted (3 Tb for the 1/3 version)
6 Tb sugar

1.  Combine all ingredients into a crumbly paste.

2.  Press into a thin layer in a 9" or 10" spring-form pan.  The bottom and the lower rim of the spring-form must be completely coated so nothing leaks out, then see how far up the sides you can get.

Cake Batter
3 8-oz packages of cream cheese (the brick, not whipped.  "lite" is ok.)
6 eggs
3 6-oz containers (2-1/4 cups) of plain nonfat yogurt
1-1/2 C sugar
2 Tb cornstarch
2 tsp vanilla extract

1.  Preheat oven to 350º.  Place spring-form pan with crust on a rimmed baking sheet.  Just in case anything leaks.

A happy blender

2.  Place all ingredients in a large blender.  I recommend putting in the cream cheese last.  Depending on the strength of your blender, you may want to incorporate the bricks one at a time.

3.  Pulse until all ingredients are combined, then let 'er rip.  Whip batter for one minute on medium.

4.  Pour into prepared spring-form pan.  Bake for one hour, or until center is no longer liquid.  It can still have a little shake to it, but should spring back when touched lightly.

5.  Shut off oven with cake inside.  Leave in oven with door shut for half an hour.  Open oven door a crack and let the cake cool to room temperature.  This may take another hour.

6.  Carefully slide a spatula around the edges before popping spring-form.  Remove the rim, loosen crust from bottom of pan, then slide the cake onto a serving platter.  Chill until ready to serve.

Sour Cream Icing
1-1/2 C sour cream (fat-free is ok)
1/4 C sugar

1.  Whip together sugar and sour cream until well mixed.  Shortly before serving, spread over top surface of cheesecake only, until all cracks, dents, and bumps are evened out.

Difficulty rating  :)

Deviled Eggs

Deviled eggs are a summer favorite.  Some versions are very complex, but I like mine basic.  I also keep them fairly low fat by using a soy-based mayo substitute.  You cannot taste the difference.

You can buy plastic deviled-egg plates at party stores that look almost as nice as glass ones.  There are also cases, so you can take them to picnics.

When making a large number, at least a dozen, you can put the filling in a pastry bag with a flower tip and squirt it into the hole for a pretty effect.  There is also nothing wrong with spooning it for a rustic look.

4 hard boiled eggs
2 Tb mayonnaise
salt & paprika to taste

1.  Slice eggs in half and pop out yolks.  Arrange whites on an egg platter.

2.  Either with a fork or electric beater, mash yolks.  Beat in mayo, salt, and a touch of paprika until the mixture is very smooth.

3.  Fill egg whites with yolk mixture.  Dust with paprika and serve chilled.

Difficulty rating  :)