Penny Herbs

I'm loving how dirt-cheap herbs are here and sometimes they even come wrapped in a pretty rustic twine like the green onions pictured above. You can seriously get huge bunches of herbs for only a fraction of a Qatar Riyal which converts to mere pennies. You can't get that sort of price in the states! Maybe it's due to all the tabouleh they eat?

So, when I came across this recipe in Ottolenghi's cookbook "Plenty" I knew I was in the right place. It calls for 5 different kinds of herbs. So. Good. And so much so that I had to blog about it and share. Recipe below:

Plenty says, "A good-looking and even better tasting side salad. It has strong flavors and is extremely healthful but still feels light and comforting. Serve it with poached baby vegetables or fish. Adding some feta will make it a bit more substantial."

Green Couscous
Adapted from "Plenty" by Yotam Ottolenghi
(Serves 4)

1 cup couscous
3/4 cup boiling water or vegetable stock
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cumin

Herb Paste:
1/3 cup chopped parsley
1 cup chopped cilantro
2 Tbsp chopped tarragon
2 Tbsp chopped dill
2 Tbsp chopped mint
6 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup unsalted pistachios, toasted and roughly chopped
3 green onions, finely sliced
1 fresh red or green chile, finely chopped
1 1/4 cup arugula leaves, chopped

Place the couscous in a large bowl and cover with the boiling water or stock. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, fry the onion in the olive oil on medium heat until golden and completely soft. Add the salt and cumin and mix well. Leave to cool slightly.

To make the herb paste. Place all the ingredients in a food processor and blitz until smooth.

Add the herb paste to the couscous and mix everything together well with a fork to fluff it up. Now add the cooked onion, the pistachios, green onions, green chile and arugula and gently mix. Serve at room temperature.

Summertime Soup

I'm not about to let the warmer weather keep me from eating my favorite meal--a big bowl of soup. So, I've been on the lookout for recipes of the traditional soup's cooler cousin. I find that I prefer "cold" soups only slightly chilled. Sometimes the cold can mask the flavors too much. Heidi Swanson's cookbook "Super Natural Cooking" intrigued me with her Crema de Guacamole with Crunchy Topopos recipe. It combines tomatillos, serrano chiles, cilantro, lime, avocados, and more into a very satisfying soup. It's on the higher end of tart but kept tame with smooth, ripe avocados. If you plan on making it, I suggest skipping the part where she has you strain the pureed tomatillos and serrano chiles mixture--the texture keeps it interesting. Please feel free to share any cold soup recipes that you love!

Ecuadorian Patacones

"Awesome". Brendon doesn't use that word often or lightly but it was the word-of-choice after taking a bite of one of these fried beauties. I learned how to make them on my mission in Ecuador and sadly, this is the first time I've made it since being home (almost 4 years now!). They're made from green (unripe) plantains, sliced, fried, smashed, fried again, and salted. I even have a neat little doohickey that smashes them to perfection. The unripeness gives them a savory flavor with just a hint of sweetness. Give them a try. . . you just might call them awesome yourself.

Put the Lime in the Coconut...

This is my new favorite dessert. Blackberries and raspberries marinated in lime sauce topped with coconut-hinted whipped cream, lime zest, and freshly toasted coconut. Fruit should always be the dessert when it's this good. Our company declined seconds but all excused the pregnant lady when she helped herself to another bowl. Gotta love being pregnant!

Roasted Tomato Basil Soup

The yellow ones freshly grown at the Cicada Cottage

Nearly all of this yummy basil was added to the pot

Roasted goodness (tomatoes, onions, garlic)

The finished product

QUESTION: What do you do with two and a half pounds of mainly yellow tomatoes?

ANSWER: You cut 'em, core 'em, roast 'em, puree 'em, and then slurp 'em.

My sister Jordan and her cute rascals stopped in for a night as they made their way to Ohio and were kind enough to share their produce harvested at the Cicada Cottage (it is quite impressive and should be checked out here). I haven't had much cooking experience with yellow tomatoes and decided to scour the internet for an intriguing recipe. Yellow tomatoes are known for being less acidic and slightly sweeter than their red cousins. My favorite way to eat a tomato is roasted or sun-dried--there's nothing like that intensified, savory, sweet, slightly chewy mouthful. It usually makes the dish. And then add a bounty of basil? I'm hooked.

The tomatoes roasted for well over a half an hour giving the aroma time to make it to the bedroom, literally waking up Brendon. That made me happy. Don't you just love waking up to the smell of yummy food? It's a much more pleasant way to be awakened instead of some ringing noise from a clock. (Maybe I should invent a scented-siren alarm clock?)

I know it's a little too hot for soup, but we all know that never stops me. But after taking a sip later in the evening after the soup had cooled down to room temperature, I believe this soup would be yummy hot or cold.

Buen provecho!

I Got to Kiss the Birthday Boy!

I love having any reason to celebrate Brendon and a birthday is no better reason! We were happy to have the Mangums stop in to share in birthday wishes and Brendon's birthday feast--Navajo tacos, pomegranate Izzes, corn on the cob (which no one ate due to the massive tacos), watermelon, and of course Baskin Robin's oreo ice cream cake. All of which was made at his request. He hardly makes any demands during the normal day to day living so I am always eager to sit him down and have him tell me exactly what he wants. And then, selfishly, I enjoyably watch him get excited in anticipation and then I get to watch him actually enjoy it.

Mary Deane made sure to add her adulation throughout the day by singing her version of Happy Birthday-- "happy day, daddy, to you".

He deserves praise not just as a husband, father, son, brother, and friend but simply for the good man that he is. He is good to the core and we love him!

July 4th Celebrations!

Patriotic Portrait (poor Brendon was catching up on sleep after a night shift).

It was no 2000 North 4th of July but I guess we'll just have to slowly work up to that. We did have a good time spending the Saturday in the Capital at the Eastern Market and yummy pizza at Fire Works (the name is apropos, no?) that evening. On the actual fourth we had a feast worthy of the occasion with Mom's famous red potato salad with bacon and mustard, a summer-y pasta (with lemon noodles, freshly grated tomato sauce and sauteed summer squash), the best watermelon we've had so far this year, Virgil's root beer, peppered potato chips, crisp grapes, fresh corn on the cob, and a chocolate cream pie made from scratch which took all morning to make. Later that evening, we drove to the town center to watch the fireworks from a parking garage rooftop. There were at least 5 shows going on at once. Mary Deane had the best view atop Grandpa's shoulders but she was more enthralled with the fuzz on his head than with the fire in the sky. So glad we could share this holiday with my parents!

Summer Soup

FRESH CORN SOUP WITH ROASTED POBLANO PEPPER SAUCE

RECIPE CAN BE FOUND IN THE LATEST REAL SIMPLE MAGAZINE

I could live off of soup. As much as I love summertime meals, I always miss sipping a big bowl of homemade soup. Not the most practical dish to eat in hot weather but occasionally I indulge despite the added degrees both in house and body.

I'm (Ann) Jonesing for:

A freshly crushed lime in a beverage. It's my latest pregnancy craving and I think I enjoy squeezing it just as much as drinking it. Let's see if I can make you crave it too. It is quite a show--the juice sprays, speckling the sides of the glass as it runs down to meet the fizzing bubbles. And with one gentle tap of my finger it bounces below the barrier of ice to ensure lasting full flavor. A flavor that tartly tingles and softly satiates. Come on over and we'll cheer a glass or two together.