NINETEEN : BARLEY & POMEGRANATE SALAD

PLENTY

OCTOBER 3 2012

NINETEEN : BARLEY & POMEGRANATE SALAD

Be honest... do any of you actually buy pomegranates? Despite their tastiness, I never do because they are so darn frustrating to eat! But Mr. O has changed everything with his surprisingly effective (and really quite fun) method of extracting the seeds safely from the intricate membranes. Simply halve the pomegranate, hold it in your palm, cut side down, over a bowl and whack the crap out of it. And the seeds immediately start cascading through your fingers and into the waiting bowl. Had a frustrating day at work? Maybe you need to seed some pomegranates to get out that aggression!

WHACK!

EIGHTEEN : SWEET CORN POLENTA WITH EGGPLANT SAUCE

PLENTY

SEPTEMBER 25 2012

EIGHTEEN : SWEET CORN POLENTA WITH EGGPLANT SAUCE

We grew corn this year, for the very first time, and it was insanely good. Our little square of rustling stalks were waaaay above our knees by the 4th of July, the most ambitious plants reaching up to tickle my chin. But we worried they wouldn't produce since we only had 12 plants (three rows of four) and corn is "open-wind pollinated and needs neighboring corn plants for good formulation of well-filled ears of corn". Our concerns, it turned out, were unfounded and the cobs grew fat and sweet. One day, we suddenly realized the corn was ripe and we should be eating it. So I pulled a few cobs off the plants, took three steps and dropped them right onto the grill to cook. So good! Sweet, earthy and amazingly fresh.

SEVENTEEN : MARINATED BUFFALO MOZZARELLA AND TOMATO

PLENTY

SEPTEMBER 19 2012

SEVENTEEN : MARINATED BUFFALO MOZZARELLA AND TOMATO

We all are familiar with this equation: summer = tomatoes = caprese salad

Mr. O takes this classic combination of soft mozzarella, ripe tomato and fresh basil to a new level by massaging the mozzarella with a pungent, basil-laced marinade before serving. I usually don't spring for the more expansive buffalo mozzarella, but am truly glad I did this time. It has an amazing softness and richness. And serving it alongside a just-picked tomato still warm from the afternoon sun makes this dish hard to beat. All it needs is some crusty bread to soak up all the lovely juices. Could be a meal in itself!

chiffonade of basil

SIXTEEN : GREEN GAZPACHO

PLENTY

SEPTEMBER 18 2012

SIXTEEN : GREEN GAZPACHO

It's that time of year again when the tomatoes are popping and evenings are still warm enough to make a me crave a cool and refreshing dinner. Perfect time for gazpacho! But wait, this green gazpacho doesn't even have tomatoes in it. Is it still gazpacho? I guess so since Wikipedia tells me there are "many modern variations of gazpacho, often in different colors and omitting the tomatoes and bread in favor of... cucumbers, parsley... and other ingredients." Well, at least this will give me the chance to use up some of those cucs taking over the crisper drawer.

FIFTEEN : TOMATO PARTY

PLENTY

SEPTEMBER 12 2012

FIFTEEN : TOMATO PARTY

It's a par-tay in the hizzle and everyone's invited! Yep, even you green tomato. And two kinds of couscous are on the guest list. Now, somebody turn up those bangin' beats while I get to work!

 Mr. O wants to keep this party interesting by including tomatoes in various states of cooked-ness "to maximize the 'tomatoey' effect with diverse flavors and textures". I like this idea as tomatoes offer such different profiles when raw vs roasted vs dried. I am also going to take him up on his offer to "choose whatever tomato selection you can get" instead of sticking exactly to those listed in the recipe.

I recently dried a bunch of cherry tomatoes so those are definitely going in. And I think I'll roast some of the Early Girls while keeping the Green Zebras and San Marzanos raw. Good plan!

garden fresh!

Early Girls sliced and ready to roast with a sprinkle of sugar

"roasting" tomatoes on the grill

First hurdle... my darn oven is broken. So I'll improvise by "roasting" tomatoes in foil on the grill. Seems to be working fine, just hope they don't burn. Now to the couscouses (or couscoui?). I didn't really want to deal with finding Sardinian fregola so opted for the Israeli couscous as the second version. Each are cooked separately and left to cool. 

Supposedly this recipe makes 4 servings... but this is turning out to be a whole lot of couscous. Again Mr. O's proportions seems to be wack-o! Oh well. Tomatoes are roasted and time to toss everything together. Combine the couscouses with all varieties of tomato and chopped herbs. The juices from the tomatoes contribute the only dressing on the salad, which worries me a little. But, one bite reveals their offering to be more than enough flavor and moisture. 

I really, really like the textural interest created by the two couscous varieties. And the tomato flavor is pronounced without taking over everything, allowing the herbs to sing. My biggest complaint is with the roasted tomatoes. They are so huge (Mr. O simply having me quarter them before roasting) and make for a gloppy bite when one of them is forked up. Next time, I would probably seed and roughly chop them then saute lightly until just caramelized before stirring into the salad.

Overall yummy though! Good thing I like it as I'll be eating left-overs for a while...