Spicy Melon Salad

Spicy melon salad
From the Boston Globe on August 4, 2010

Serves 6

Popularized by street carts in Mexico and Latin neighborhoods throughout the United States, this versatile dish can be served any time of day. Vendors sell zip-top bags filled with diced fruit. They add salt, lime juice, and dried chili powder to order. Bring these fresh flavors to your table, replacing chili powder with sliced jalapeno and chopped mint. Mix it up with pineapple, papaya, jicama, or mango. Season with salt just before serving, as it quickly leeches juices from the fruits.

2 cantaloupe, honeydew, or other ripe melons (about 6 pounds total), halved, seeded, peeled, and chopped
Grated rind of 1 lime
Juice of 2 limes
1/2 jalapeno, seeded and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
1/2 teaspoon salt

1. In a large bowl, combine melon, lime rind and juice, jalapeno, and mint.

2. Stir well, cover, and refrigerate for 1 hour. Sprinkle with salt and stir gently.

Karoline Boehm Goodnick

Tomato Pie

Tomato Pie from the Boston Globe 8.11.10
Serves 6

There are many variations of tomato pie, using an old-fashioned lard crust, as North Carolina resident Mindy Fitzpatrick does, or adding different cheeses, spices, vegetables, even meat. This version uses onion, cheddar, mozzarella, mayonnaise, fresh basil, and crushed Ritz crackers. Use your favorite pastry recipe or a ready-made frozen crust. You can also use 10 plum tomatoes for this pie.

4 large ripe tomatoes, cored and sliced medium-thick
Salt and pepper, to taste
6 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
Deep 9-inch pie pan lined with pastry
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup shredded cheddar
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1 cup mayonnaise
Handful of fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped
1 cup crushed Ritz crackers

1. In a colander, layer the tomatoes with salt; set aside for 10 minutes to drain. Press the tomatoes with your hand to release excess liquid.

2. Set the oven to 375 degrees.

3. In a skillet over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter. Add the onion, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring often, for 10 minutes.

4. Prick the pastry well all over. Dust the pastry with half the nutmeg. Press a piece of foil into the pastry. Fill it with rice or beans and bake the dough for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and rice or beans. Continue baking for 5 minutes or until the edges begin to brown. Remove from oven.

5. Turn the oven temperature down to 350 degrees.

6. Layer half the tomatoes in the pastry. Add a layer of onions and sprinkle with pepper.

7. In a bowl, mix the cheddar and mozzarella. Set aside 1 cup of the cheese.

8. In another bowl, mix together the 1 cup of cheese, mayonnaise, and remaining nutmeg. Spread the mixture over the tomatoes.

9. Add another layer of tomatoes, pepper, and onions.

10. Sprinkle with basil and the remaining cheese.

11. Bake the pie for 50 minutes until the cheese forms a golden crust.

12. Melt the remaining 4 tablespoons butter. In a bowl, toss the crackers and butter. Sprinkle the mixture on the pie and continue baking for 10 minutes more. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Adapted from the Friendly Market

Fishing For A Feast

I'm not much of a fisherwoman, although I do enjoy the idea of catch-your-own. Destin's charter boats make it easy for you. Despite the ginormous BP disaster, the waters here are cleared for swimming and fishing. After a whole day on the water, we went away with a collection of almost 40 snappers and trigger fish. Back at the condo and safe on land, we have carefully prepped and frozen everything that we won't eat this week. My parents will be taking it home for future good times. Until then, we plan to cook up grilled trigger fish tacos (with Kenny's Uncle Ivan's Special 7 chili blend) and pan fried snapper with green tomatoes. We're still thinking of more ways to prepare it. Stay tuned. And, a huge thank you to the guys at Sweet Jody Fishing for helping us to reel in such a fantastic catch!

Alemany Farmer's Market

It's hard to believe that I live only about 1 mile from one of the best and most affordable farmer's markets in the city, and I had not visited! Alemany hosts a farmer's market as well as a flea market; that's next on my list! But, that all changed at 6:30 this morning. The girls at Mission Pie have developed a weekly habit of arriving early on Saturday to ensure a good parking spot. While there, it's easy to cart away several cases of peaches from Regier Family Farm in Dinuba. A quick stroll around also guarantees ingredients for savory pot pies and treasures for the home kitchen.


Ben was, of course, still sleeping when I returned. I decided to surprise him with a country-style breakfast made from market goodies. Wookie, our new cat, made himself comfortable at the table. Sorry, buddy, blueberries aren't for wookies.


Morning can't start without coffee. So,I put together something that felt a little bit more luxurious than our normal routine: french press brewed from Taylor Maid's goat rock.


While the produce was amazing, I have to admit that I was most impressed with the poached duck eggs. All the rumors that you have heard about fresh eggs - be they duck or chicken - are 100 percent true. It was like nothing I've ever had before but something I plan to have again.

A Lazy Wednesday

This morning brought a little bit of a much needed adventure. The last few months have been full of the humdrum of everyday life. So, when the San Francisco Professional Food Society posted a meeting and tour of the Hodo Soy Beanery in Oakland, I jumped at the chance. It was even on a Wednesday! That never happens!


Making tofu, as it turns out, is very similar to cheese. The first step is to re-hydrate dried soybeans (Hodo uses only organic, non-GMO beans), mash them up, and "cook" them in very hot water. The result is soy milk.


Once the soy milk is drained off, the pulp must be emptied out. Hodo sells this to hog farmers in the area since there is still a great deal of nutrition left in the shells, etc.


The now warm milk is transferred to large bowls where a coagulant is added. After curds form, they are broken in a process not unsimilar to a paddle turning in an electric mixer. The broken curds are poured out into trays lined with cheesecloth. A tofu master is responsible for distributing the curds evenly and wrapping them in the cloth. The large block is then transferred to the pressing area. Large hydraulic presses are used to press the tofu to the desired thickness, releasing a significant amount of "whey". Once the blocks are set, they are cut (again by hand) and transferred to a cold water bath to cool.


Yuba is another popular product made from soy milk. As soy milk is heated, the proteins and fats coagulate, forming a thin sheet on the surface of the liquid. Once set, a tofu master first cuts the sheet loose.


The sheets are then hung to dry briefly. They are later folded and packaged. Hodo delivers to restaurants and farmers markets. Their products are sold within one day of production and are therefore the freshest tofu products available in the Bay area.


Fortunately, there were samples of some of the very delicious ways that tofu and yuba can be prepared!


When we returned to SF, I dropped Ben off at work and headed over to the Ferry Building to slurp down some Hog Island oysters for lunch. Paired with Acme bread and a glass of Domaine Carneros pink bubbly, they made the perfect snack.


Feeling somewhat gluttonous, I strolled down to Blue Bottle, where they misheard my request for an affogato (Humphry Slocombe ice cream topped with a shot of espresso) for a macchiato (a shot of espresso with a dollop of steamed milk). So, instead, I just had both! All in all, it was a lovely afternoon.

Lamb and Pita Dinner

A couple of weeks ago, we bid bon voyage to our friend, Suzan, who was on her way to visit family in Turkey. Inspired by her travels, we put together a quick dinner consisting of a few bits and pieces of a lot of eastern Mediterranean cuisines. We started the night off right with a Greek style saganaki, made popular in our home town of Chicago: fried Haloumi cheese, flamed in the pan and finished with a squirt of lemon juice. Let's just say that we were lucky not to have to call the firemen!


The rest of the meal consisted of an eclectic collection of cucumber salad (similar to tzatziki), brown basmati rice cooked pilaf style with pine nuts, marinated olives, and homemade pita.

Rustic Lamb Stew
Serves 4

2 3/4 pounds bony lamb stew meat
flour, for sprinkling
salt and pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 medium onion, sliced
5 cloves garlic, crushed
1 sprig fresh oregano
1 teaspoon dried Greek oregano
1 large tomato, chopped
2 preserved lemon quarters, finely chopped
4 cups water


1. Set the oven at 375 degrees. On a plate or a rimmed baking sheet, spread the flour. Season the flour with salt and pepper, mix well. Lightly dredge lamb pieces in seasoned flour.
2. Place a metal rack on a rimmed baking sheet. Place dredged lamb pieces on metal rack. Roast for 1 hour.
3. In a large flameproof casserole, heat oil over medium high heat. Cook onion and garlic for 5 minutes or until tender. Add fresh and dried oregano,tomato, and lemons. Cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes.
4. Add lamb, water, salt, and pepper. Bring liquids to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 2 hours.
5. Remove lamb pieces from stew. When it is cool enough to handle, pick off meat and stir it back into stew. Reheat if necessary. Taste for seasoning, and add more salt and pepper, if you like. Serve with brown basmati rice.


And, of course, a walnut pie from Mission Pie. It was superb paired with fresh black Mission Figs, lightly whipped cream, and Jim Beam Rye. (For those of you who don't know the story, Mission Pie chooses to make a walnut pie instead of pecan. The reason stems from local, environmental choices. The selected walnut farm is only 60 miles away from the shop, whereas pecans would have to be trucked in all the way from Georgia. The result is delectable.)

Blueberry Cake

From today's Boston Globe... Lisa's Cake, My Photos...


Blueberry buttermilk tea cake
By Lisa Yockelson, Globe Correspondent | July 14, 2010

Makes one 9-inch loaf

Big handfuls of fresh blueberries belong in a buttery cake, tender with buttermilk. The dark blue rounds float in this vanilla-scented batter and create juicy pockets of flavor. Their taste seems to concentrate during baking. When blues are fresh and plump, with a beautiful silvery sheen, the little rounds retain their shape and offer a mosaic in each slice. On this cake, the finish is a simple dusting of confectioners’ sugar, but many loaves benefit from a glaze. To make one, beat 2 tablespoons milk and 1 teaspoon vanilla into 1 cup confectioners’ sugar just until smooth. Once the loaf is cool, spoon the glaze over it and let it stand until firm. A bowl of whipped cream might seem too extravagant for this loaf. Go ahead and beat cream into clouds. Summer blues only come around once a year.


Butter (for the pan)
Flour (for the pan)
2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup fresh blueberries, picked over
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup buttermilk
Confectioners’ sugar (for sprinkling)


1. Set the oven at 350 degrees. Butter a 9-by-5-by-3-inch loaf pan. Dust the pan with flour, tapping out the excess.

2. In a bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to blend them.

3. In another bowl, toss the blueberries with 1 teaspoon of the flour mixture.

4. In an electric mixer at medium speed, beat the butter for 2 minutes. Add the sugar in two additions, beating for 1 minute after each. Blend in the eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla.

5. With the mixer set on low speed, beat in half of the flour mixture, then the buttermilk, then the remaining flour mixture. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula once or twice.

6. Remove the bowl from the mixer stand. With a large rubber spatula fold in the blueberries and any excess flour in the bowl.

7. Spoon the batter into the loaf pan, mounding it slightly in the center. Bake the cake for 55 to 60 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake is clean when withdrawn.

8. Set the cake on a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. Turn the cake out of the pan and return the cake to the rack to cool. Dust the top with confectioners’ sugar. Cut into slices with a serrated knife.

Lisa Yockelson