TWENTY-SEVEN : QUINOA SALAD W/ DRIED PERSIAN LIME

PLENTY

NOVEMBER 20 2012

TWENTY-SEVEN : QUINOA SALAD W/ DRIED PERSIAN LIME

It is extremely dangerous for me to shop at Barbur World Foods. I go in to buy bread and come out with za'atar or preserved lemon or aleppo pepper. And I usually have no plan or even idea of how to use these items. In fact, these dried Persian limes have been sitting in my cupboard for years, completely untouched. Until now!

I was thrilled to find that one of Mr. O's recipes features dried Persian limes and I can't wait to use them. He is right in saying that turning these suckers into powder is "difficult to achieve because the limes are rock hard". As I'm breaking them into pieces to stuff into the coffee/spice grinder, I actually give myself a "dried-lime cut"... which is worse than a paper cut because the edges are all jagged and tangy. But it will all be worth it!

Now comes some sweet potato vs yam confusion. I bought said sweet potatoes which, once peeled, reveal themselves to be basically white. But Mr O's photos show a dark orange vegetable tossed in the salad. I think he used yams! Or different, orange-colored sweet potatoes? Aaaah... I'm so confused! The orange ones would look prettier... but I think they basically taste the same so oh well.

It's a pretty good salad. The dried lime powder ads a nice floral note and complements the earthy quinoa. Not sure why it has rice and quinoa... but still tasty! I'll have to research some more ways to use those dried limes cause I've still got most of the bag left.

TWENTY-THREE & TWENTY-FOUR : HAM PARTY!

PLENTY

NOVEMBER 02 2012

TWENTY-THREE : EGGPLANT CROQUETTES
TWENTY-FOUR : QUINOA & GRILLED SOURDOUGH SALAD

It's Friday night and I'm cooking up a ham the size of my head! The big boy, slathered in a mix of jalapeno jelly and whole-grain mustard, has been slowly baking for the last couple of hours and requires little attention. So I can focus on the other dishes while keeping an eye on the Blazer game. I'm planning to greet my dinner guests with hot, crispy eggplant croquettes then serve the ham with mashed potatoes, sauteed kale, Mr. O's Quinoa & Grilled Sourdough Salad and lots o' wine.

The croquettes worry me because I never deep-fry at home. Don't get me wrong, I really, really love fried foods, but I just know I'll run into trouble... grease splatters, left-over oil to deal with, realizing how easy it is and eating everything breaded and fried from now on. But tonight, it's on! First I need to blacken the eggplant but the broiler isn't really getting the job done so I transfer them out to the grill. The recipe calls for "4 medium eggplant"; I had two small ones from the garden and bulked them up with another three from the store.

garden eggplants in the front

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!

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

FOURTEEN : ZUCCHINI & HAZELNUT SALAD

PLENTY

AUGUST 30 2012

FOURTEEN : ZUCCHINI & HAZELNUT SALAD

ZUCCHINI!!! I love you and I hate you at the same time! How many ways can we eat thee without going insane? How about grilled in a lovely salad w/ basil and toasted hazelnuts. OKAY!

garden basil!

garden zucchini!

TWELVE : CUCUMBER SALAD WITH SMASHED GARLIC & GINGER

PLENTY

AUGUST 7 2012

TWELVE : CUCUMBER SALAD WITH SMASHED GARLIC & GINGER

I've had to be pretty darn creative this year to keep up with all the cucumbers bursting out of the garden. Other than simply tossing in a salad or dipping into hummus, I've snuck lemon cucumber into a fruit salad and have an ongoing fridge pickle laced with mustard seed and sliced onion. Then there's the jar of Bubbies pickle brine that I started filling with my own little pickling cucs and my first attempt at homemade kimchi featuring paper thin slices of the larger Sultan cucs and radish. Next I'm thinking some kind of chutney and I can't wait for my tomatoes to catch up so we can keep cool on hot days with fresh gazpacho.

ELEVEN : SPICY MOROCCAN CARROT SALAD

PLENTY

JULY 29 2012

ELEVEN : SPICY MOROCCAN CARROT SALAD

"I didn't think I'd like the carrot salad, but it's really good. Did you try this salad? It's actually really, really good!" ~ overheard at a potluck BBQ

Do you want to amaze people you just met and make lots and lots of new friends? Just bring Spicy Moroccan Carrot Salad to every event you attend. It is sure to impress!

which carrots are homegrown?

I would have to agree with my anonymous critic that this salad is very delicious. It wraps the lightly crunch carrot slices in a rich, aromatic blend of spices that complements their sweet earthiness. And today's version was made with 50% homegrown carrots! Our gnarly tubers have roots only a mother could love, but they still taste delicious.

SIX : WARM GLASS NOODLES & EDAMAME

PLENTY

JUNE 27 2012

SIX : WARM GLASS NOODLES & EDAMAME

I came thiiiiis close to swapping the edamame in this dish for some of the fresh snow peas that are popping in the garden. But, as said edamame had already been acquired and was waiting in the crisper, I stuck to my guns and followed the recipe. Plus, I appear to have the wrong type of noodles (nooooo!) so am already in danger of completely messing up this salad. But, onwards and upwards!

FIVE : GREEN BEAN SALAD WITH A SURPISE TWIST

PLENTY

JUNE 14 2012

FIVE : GREEN BEAN SALAD WITH MUSTARD SEED AND TARRAGON

Three beans combine to perfection in this fresh, crunchy salad. My contribution tonight comes in the form of the plump, just-picked snap peas. Pea harvest is winding down as the days heat up so I'm trying to take full advantage of every last delicious pod.

This salad is a snap to throw together. Trimming and blanching the peas proves to be the most time consuming chore and even that goes pretty quick. Each pea gets it's own spa treatment before being all tossed with an aromatic oil swimming with just-popped whole spices. A little red onion, fresh garlic, lemon zest, tarragon and chopped swiss chard round it out.

ONE : AVOCADO, QUINOA AND FAVA BEAN SALAD

PLENTY

JUNE 01 2012

I love growing radishes. With almost zero time or effort, they transform a barren patch of rain-soaked mud into a leafy and productive garden. As soon as their first little leaves peek out of still cold soil, my green thumb shakes off the long, dreary winter and begins to glow with anticipation of the bountiful season to come. It is finally spring!

EIGHTY-SEVEN - NINETY-FIVE : SUNDAY SAUCE!

JANUARY 5 2012

EIGHTY-SEVEN : OLIVES
EIGHTY-EIGHT : ANTIPASTO PLATE
EIGHTY-NINE : CANNELLINI, CAPER, LEMON & ANCHOVY CROSTINI
NINETY : MULLED WINE
NINETY-ONE : PORK BRACIOLA MARINARA

NINETY-TWO : POTATO GNOCCHI 
NINETY-THREE : GNOCCHI MARINARA  
NINETY-FOUR : PUNTARELLE WITH LEMON, CAPERS, ANCHOVY & PECORINO
NINETY-FIVE : TIRAMISU

 
And that's all folks. I am now done with the book! My grand adventure culminated tonight in a fabulous Sunday Sauce (on Thursday) party where I crammed all the remaining dishes onto the table and we ate until we just about burst. I think it will be easiest to talk about each section separately. So here goes...

EIGHT-FOUR & EIGHTY-FIVE : ROASTED VEGETABLES

JANUARY 2 2012

EIGHTY-FOUR : ROASTED VEGETABLE SALAD
EIGHTY-FIVE : ROASTED VEGETABLE SANDWICH

Making the roasted vegetable salad was super simple because I had a bunch of leftover veggies I roasted for NYE. These were tossed with a simple balsamic dressing and the salad was done. And it totally rocks! Also, as the Frankies promise, it makes a great breakfast "after a night of heavy eating or drinking."

yummy veggies

SEVENTY-THREE & SEVENTY-FOUR : SARDINES TWO WAYS

DECEMBER 13 2011

SEVENTY-THREE : SARDINE, BLOOD ORANGE & PUNTARELLE SALAD
SEVENTY-FOUR : GRILLED CURED SARDINES

Here fishy, fishy! I love me the fishiest of the fishes and these sardines fall squarely into that category. Mackerel is another oily, super-fishy, fabulous one that I love, love, love!

These babies had been curing since Friday in a lovely blend of olive oil, lemon, garlic, parsley. When I started the curing process, I had planned to enjoy them Sunday as a nice, light lunch. But we were both sooooo stuffed after feasting the night before that lunch never really happened. So tonight, I pulled them out of their oil bath and got to work. Truly, the painful part of these recipes is the curing process. Once that's done, everything else come together very quickly.

FIFTY : SHAVED RAW BRUSSELS SPROUTS WITH CASTELROSSO

OCTOBER 10 2011

As a big fan of brussels sprouts, I am quite disappointed to report that this is my least favorite dish of the cookbook so far. Tossed in a dressing that is nearly 50/50 olive oil to lemon juice, any subtle flavors in the dish are completely overwhelmed. And raw brussels sprouts... not so good it turns out.

shaved brussels sprouts ingredients

Plus, there is the saga of the Castelrosso cheese, my biggest nemesis of this project.

FORTY-FOUR : FRANKIES GREENS

SEPTEMBER 28 2011

There are two ingredients in this dish... mixed greens and cipollini onion vinaigrette. Really? This requires an actual recipe? But, I pledged to do every recipes in this book, so here we go.

I had already made the vinaigrette for the watercress and fig salad and found it lacking. So this time I reduced the amount of olive oil (despite my previous pledge to try it again exactly as the recipe says) and it was much better. More tang and a nice onion-y flavor. This dressing was then tossed with mixed greens. Done. At least some of the greens were from the garden...

frankies greens

T'was a fine salad. I really can't complain.

This does mark the halfway point! Looking forward to all the braising and simmering and warm wintery dishes ahead :)

THIRTY-EIGHT & THIRTY-NINE : WATERCRESS, FIG & GORGONZOLA SALAD

AUGUST 27 2011

THIRTY-EIGHT : CIPOLLINI ONION VINAIGRETTE
THIRTY-NINE : WATERCRESS WITH FRESH FIGS & GORGONZOLA


The "watercress salad with cipollini vinaigrette" saga started Saturday morning when I decided to make this salad for breakfast (it's true, I eat salad for breakfast). And I had visions of me, sitting in the early morning sun on the deck, munching on a lovely watercress salad, watching the pets frolic in the grass. Ahhhh....

I've been really looking forward to this salad, too. Figs + gorgonzola = awesome! And watercress is an ingredient I never buy so I was pretty curious about it. My dreams, however, were dashed by a bland oily dressing and strangely proportioned salad.

THIRTY-ONE & THIRTY-TWO : BEET SALAD

AUGUST 17 2011


THIRTY-ONE : BEETS
THIRTY-TWO : ROASTED BEET & AVOCADO SALAD

I want to like beets... I really, really do. But it hasn't happened yet. I thought my dislike might stem from their irritating habit of staining everything they come in contact with bright red, so decided to grow some sweet little candy-striped beets in my garden this year and give them another try. I saved up my entire harvest of the little guys and put them all into this salad. But, it turns out, I still don't really like beets... even my own beets.

The salad required me to incorporate the "Beets" recipe from the veggie section, which was simply roasting them with olive oil, salt and white pepper. At this point, they could be served as is or used for a couple of different salads.

baby beets ready for roasting

TWENTY-EIGHT & TWENTY-NINE : ESCAROLE SALAD

JULY 27 2011


TWENTY-EIGHT : ESCAROLE WITH SLICED RED ONION & WALNUTS
TWENTY-NINE : WALNUT DRESSING


So far, I have really enjoyed all the salads in the Frankies cookbook and this one is no exception. I was a bit concerned at first because all of the ingredients are super intense. A nibble of escarole proved it to be really, really bitter, to the point of almost spitting it out. Add to that 1 cup raw sliced onions, 1 cup raw walnut chunks and 1 cup sliced pecorino romano then toss it all with a raw walnut dressing. Sounds like a mouthful, right?!

walnuts and sliced red onion ready for the salad

TWENTY-FOUR : ROMAIN HEARTS W/ CAESAR SALAD DRESSING

JULY 13 2011

You know what I love? Caesar salad!! I was excited to make this one not only because I knew it would be delicious, but also because it was dead easy. Blend together the dressing, toss with romaine hearts and sprinkle with cheese & black pepper. Bam! Done!

So I collected all the dressing ingredients and the lettuce and got to work. Put everything except the lettuce, 1/3 of the cheese and the black pepper into a blender. Puree until smooth. Nice.

Now time to assemble.

FIFTEEN ~ NINETEEN : TIME TO MAKE FRESH PASTA

JUNE 28 2011

FIFTEEN : RED WINE VINAIGRETTE 
SIXTEEN : ARUGULA, PECORINO & RED WINE VINAIGRETTE SALAD
SEVENTEEN : BASIC PASTA DOUGH
EIGHTEEN : VEGETABLE BROTH
NINETEEN : LINGUINE WITH FAVA BEANS, GARLIC, TOMATO & BREAD CRUMBS

Today I am taking on fresh pasta. I even bought the pasta attachments for my KitchenAid so I am fully invested. Frankies is full of encouragement that fresh pasta really isn't that hard, but I am not convinced. I've made it before and always got angry. But back then I had a hand crank thingy that squeaked and the handle would fall off while I was cranking it. Maybe that was the problem. Maybe it will all be okay.

Step one is to make the pasta dough. Not too hard. Just mix it all in the KitchenAid and chill for an hour. Then I take a look at the recipe for the pasta with fava bean. Wait, what!? I have to make fresh vegetable broth?! This is too much. I almost order a pizza. But first I flip to the blurb about the broth and realize it's actually super easy. Just simmer some chopped veggies (any will do) for 15 minutes then let steep for 30. Okay, calm down, that is totally doable. Pasta is back on! And the veggie broth actually smells quite nice as it simmers.

Time to tackle the fava beans. Did you know the inside of a fava bean pod is fuzzy? I sure didn't. Looks so nice and cozy for those little guys!