I bought a delicious Crenshaw melon at the Farmer’s Market on Saturday and after eating a few slices for breakfast yesterday morning, decided to turn the rest of it into melon balls.  I had no particular reason for wanting to do this, it just seemed like a fun thing to do.  And we all know that food tastes better when it’s cut into fun shapes, right?

As I was scooping out the flesh with the antique melon baller that has been in my family for as long as I can remember, I thought about the half-empty container of fresh mini mozzarella balls in the refrigerator.  I had never combined melon with mozzarella before, but the melon balls and mozzarella balls were the same size and shape and the more I thought about it, the more it seemed like they were destined to end up in the same bowl.

So of course they did end up in the same bowl.

I made a quick dressing of lime juice, honey, and mint since I knew those ingredients would be nice with the melon.  I also added a bit of crushed red pepper because after living in Sicily for four years I now put crushed red pepper in just about everything.  And of course a tiny bit of salt always helps to perk things up a bit (try a sprinkle of salt on fresh cantaloupe – yum!).  The resulting salad was light, simple, and delicious!

Melon and Mozzarella Salad

2 cups of cold, bite-size melon balls or cubes (use your favorite type of melon)
1 cup of bite-size fresh mozzarella balls or cubes
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon fresh chopped mint leaves
small pinch of salt
small pinch of crushed red pepper

Put melon balls and mozzarella in a medium bowl.  In a small bowl, whisk together honey, lime juice, mint, salt, and crushed red pepper.  Pour dressing over the melon and mozzarella then toss to combine.  Serve immediately.

Yield: four servings

Related Recipes:

• Blood Orange and Green Olive Salad
• Sweet and Spicy Cucumber Dill Salad
• Chilled Ginger Cantaloupe Soup
• Tangerine and Jicama Salad with Garlic and Cilantro

Around the Web:

• Cucumber Melon Salad from Not Eating Out in New York
• Melon, Chicken, and Avocado Salad from La Tartine Gourmande
• Melon Salad with Prosciutto and Goat Cheese from Closet Cooking
• Watermelon Salad with Feta or Cotija from Simply Recipes
• Cantaloupe Salad with Feta and Basil from Kitchen Parade

It’s Summer Fest time and this week we’re celebrating herbs, greens, and beans.  My contribution to the party is a simple side dish of green beans dressed in a rich balsamic browned butter sauce.  It can be thrown together in minutes and has an extremely short ingredient list, but don’t let that fool you.  The flavor of these green beans will blow you away!

Green Beans with Balsamic Browned Butter

1 pound green beans, trimmed
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste

Cook green beans in a large pot of salted water just until crisp-tender; drain then arrange on a serving plate.  In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.  Cook until the butter solids have started to brown, about 2 – 3 minutes.  Remove pan from heat.  Add the tablespoon of balsamic vinegar – be careful, it will sputter.  Swirl pan or stir with a long-handled spoon until it stops bubbling.  Season with a bit of salt and freshly ground black pepper then spoon butter mixture over the green beans.  Serves 4.

Other Recipes Featuring Herbs, Greens, and Beans:

• Maple-Rosemary Glazed Walnuts
• Herbed Cheese Biscuits
• Cilantro Caesar Salad with Carne Asada
• Cucumber Salad with Fresh Dill
• Tangerine and Jicama Salad with Garlic and Cilantro
• Whole Wheat Greek Orzo Salad
• Creamy Spinach Soup
• Edamame and Pea Soup with Herbed Lemon Cream
• Herbed Tuna Salad with Feta and Pine Nuts
• Green Beans with Bacon and Tart Cherry Balsamic Glaze

Other Summer Fest Attendees Celebrating Herbs, Greens, and Beans:

• Todd and Diane at White on Rice Couple use fresh mint to make Homemade Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
• Margaret at A Way to Garden stores a year of herbs—and makes one-pot Farinata a polenta dish with greens
• Food Network UK is on the edge with herbs and greens
• Caroline at the Wright Recipes is cooking up Wax and Butter Bean Herbed Salad
• Jennifer and Mark at Gilded Fork have a virtual garden of recipes for basil, cilantro, fennel, lavender, lemongrass, rosemary, sage and tarragon.
• Cate at Sweetnicks shares Fresh Green Bean Salad with Herb Vinaigrette
• Alana at Eating From the Ground Up has Shirred Eggs with Fresh Herbs
• Healthy Eats share their Top Six Herbs
• Allison at Food2 shows how to use up leftover herbs with Use-it-up Pesto
• The Cooking Channel has The Best Bean Salads and a French take on beans, greens, and herbs
• The FN Dish has recipes for The “Other” Summer Greens
• Tigress in a Jam has a preserving–book giveaway, and ways to put up greens, beans, herbs
• Kelly at Just a Taste shares Fresh Herb Ricotta
• Caron at San Diego Foodstuff shares recipes for Kale and Feta Empanadas and Roasted Romano Beans
• Judy at Tuscan Diva shares her Tuscan Herb Blend
• Tara at Tea & Cookies shares her Clean Out the Fridge Frittata
• Shauna and Danny at Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef tell us What to do with Fava Beans
• Paige at The Sister Project says Aloha, Pesto

How You Can Join in Summer Fest 2010

Have a recipe or tip that fits any of our weekly themes? Starting with our posts of Wednesday, July 28, for five Wednesdays, you can contribute in various ways, big or small.

Contribute a whole post, or a comment—whatever you wish. It’s meant to be fun, viral, fluid. No pressure, just delicious. Simply leave your tip or recipe or favorite links in the comments below a Summer Fest post on my blog, and then go visit my collaborators and do the same.

The cross-blog event idea works best when you leave your recipe or favorite links (whether to your own blog or someone else’s) at all the host blogs. Yes, copy and paste them everywhere! That way, they are likely to be seen by the widest audience. Everyone benefits, and some pretty great dialog starts simmering.

Or think bigger: Publish entire posts of your own, if you wish, and grab the juicy Summer Fest 2010 tomato badge (illustrated by Matt of Mattbites.com).

Summer Fest 2010 Posting Schedule

7/28: Cukes and Zukes
8/4: Corn
8/11: Herbs, Greens, and Beans
8/18: Stone Fruit
8/25: Tomatoes

Summer Fest is in full swing and this week we’re celebrating corn, one of summer’s sweetest pleasures.  I have many fond memories of eating fresh corn on the cob in summer – sweet and salty and dripping with butter, it was always a welcome treat.

There’s even a special place in my heart for those funky plastic corn holders (shaped like corn cobs, of course) that my grandma would stick into the ends of the cob to keep our fingers clean and unburnt.  I can still remember how they felt in my hands as I rolled the hot corn against a cold stick of butter until it was was coated with a thick, drippy layer and the stick of butter had molded itself into a shape more suitable for the task at hand.

And then there was the eating.  My sister and I would race through the rows of kernels, typewriter sound effects in full effect, enjoying the messy act of eating as much if not more than the delightful flavor of the corn.  Corn on the cob is still a delight, but it seems that I was much less annoyed by corn stuck in my teeth when I was a child.  It drives me crazy now!

Well you don’t have to worry about corn sticking in your teeth when you cut it off the cob to make this delicious creamed corn.  It might not be quite as fun to eat, but the flavor will more than make up for it.

Creamed Corn with Bacon and Rosemary

5 large ears fresh sweet corn
4 slices bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 shallot, finely chopped
2/3 cup water
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon fresh minced rosemary
1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Husk corn and cut kernels off the cobs (you should have about 4 cups kernels); set aside.  In a medium saucepan, cook bacon until crisp.  Remove bacon pieces with a slotted spoon and set aside; pour off all but 2 teaspoons of the drippings.  Add shallots and cook over medium-low heat until softened, about 3 – 4 minutes.  Pour water into the pan, turn heat up, and scrape up the brown bits.  Add corn, bring to a simmer, then cover and reduce heat.  Cook for 10 – 15 minutes until tender.  Add cream and rosemary and simmer for a few minutes longer until slightly thickened.  Stir in bacon pieces and season to taste with salt and pepper.  For a thicker consistency, puree a small portion of corn and liquid in a blender then return to pan.  Serves 6.

Other Ways with Corn:

• Kettle Corn
• Grilled Corn, Mango, and Jicama Salad
• Carrot Potato Cheese Soup with Corn
• Black Beans and Corn with Green Chiles

Other Summer Fest Attendees Celebrating Corn:

• Margaret at A Way to Garden: Vintage corn Americana slideshow, and no-frills creamed corn
• The FN Dish: Creamed Corn-Off: Battle of the Southern Cooks
• Alison at Food2: Freezing Corn
• Toby at Healthy Eats: Candied Corn and 4 other recipes
• Michelle at Cooking Channel: Browsing Corn Porn
• Judy at Over a Tuscan Stove: Fried Polenta Crostini with Porcini Ragu
• Jennifer of Gilded Fork: Corn: Sweet Versatility (history, uses & recipes from cocktails to cornbread
• Chef Mark: Gettin’ Corny! (Musings from childhood, tips & fresh-corn recipes)
• Caron of San Diego Foodstuff: Chino Corn Risotto with Chanterelles and Burrata
• Caroline at The Wright Recipes: Pickled Corn with Summer Onion and Basil
• White on Rice Couple: BBQ Chicken and Corn Pizza
• Shauna at Gluten Free Girl and The Chef: a sweet corn risotto (and how to make corn stock with husks and mirepoix)
• Tigress in a Jam: Cream Corn Scones (the perfect way to use up left over roasted or boiled corn):
• Alana at Eating from the Ground Up: Corn on the Kabob (invented by her artist husband):
• Cate O’Malley at Sweetnicks: Corn and Spinach Stuffed Portobello Mushroom Caps
• Kelly at Just a Taste: Caramel Corn (plus pics of corn in its various popping stages)
• Paige Orloff of The Sister Project: Life-Changing Corn Pancakes
• Tara at Tea and Cookies: Farro Corn Salad with Tomatoes and Herbs
• Food Network UK blog: Talking Corn

How You Can Join in Summer Fest 2010

Have a recipe or tip that fits any of our weekly themes? Starting with our posts of Wednesday, July 28, for five Wednesdays, you can contribute in various ways, big or small.

Contribute a whole post, or a comment—whatever you wish.  It’s meant to be fun, viral, fluid.  No pressure, just delicious.  Simply leave your tip or recipe or favorite links in the comments below a Summer Fest post on my blog, and then go visit my collaborators and do the same.

The cross-blog event idea works best when you leave your recipe or favorite links (whether to your own blog or someone else’s) at all the host blogs. Yes, copy and paste them everywhere! That way, they are likely to be seen by the widest audience. Everyone benefits, and some pretty great dialog starts simmering.

Or think bigger: Publish entire posts of your own, if you wish, and grab the juicy Summer Fest 2010 tomato badge (illustrated by Matt of Mattbites.com).

Summerfest 2010 Posting Schedule

7/28: Cukes and Zukes
8/4: Corn
8/11: Herbs, Greens, and Beans
8/18: Stone Fruit
8/25: Tomatoes

For the rest of the summer, my Wordless Wednesday posts will be replaced by Summer Fest 2010 – a cross-blog food event that celebrates the beautiful fruits and vegetables so readily available from home gardens and farmer’s markets at this time of year. The event is in its third year and I’m thrilled to be a part of it for the first time this summer.  Thanks to Margaret Roach and Deb Puchalla for creating this fabulous summer blogging party!

Each Wednesday for the next five weeks a group of us will be sharing tips and recipes centered around a specific garden theme.  There are several bloggers participating, new friends and old, and we will be linking to each other and encouraging you to share your favorite tips and recipes as well.  It’s a big celebration of summer produce and you’re all invited!

Summer Fest 2010:  Cukes and Zukes

The theme for this week is cucumbers and zucchini.  Though not as stunningly beautiful as heirloom tomatoes nor as fragrant as plump, vine-ripened peaches, cucumbers and zucchini are high on my list of summer favorites.  Yes, you can buy both year-round at the grocery store, but there’s something special about seeing the first Armenian cucumbers and tiny summer squash showing up at the farmer’s market.  And what’s more beautiful than the fleeting appearance of delicate orange squash blossoms piled high at a market table?  Cucumbers and zucchini deserve to be celebrated and I’m thrilled that they are the starring attraction this week at Summer Fest.

I chose to celebrate zucchini in one of the simplest ways possible – grilled.  I like to slice the zucchini lengthwise into long 1/2 – inch thick strips then add a quick squeeze of lemon juice, a drizzle of olive oil, a pinch of kosher salt, and a grind of black pepper.  These simple additions along with a quick sear on a hot grill will turn your ho-hum, boring zucchini into something magical.

The entire process takes less than ten minutes once you have the grill (or even a grill pan) preheated.  And once the zucchini is grilled you can eat it warm or cold, alone or chopped and combined with other grilled veggies.  It’s great served alongside grilled meats, but can also make an interesting sandwich addition, or even layered into lasagna.

Grilled Zucchini with Lemon and Olive Oil

zucchini, cut lengthwise into 1/2-inch slices (allow one small zucchini or half a large zucchini per person)
fresh lemon (allow 1/2 lemon for 2 – 3 large zucchini)
olive oil
salt
fresh ground black pepper

Preheat gas or charcoal grill.  Place zucchini slices in a large bowl then squeeze lemon juice over the zucchini and toss to coat.  Drizzle with a bit of olive oil and rub the slices with your fingers to make sure all sides are coated with the oil and lemon.  Arrange slices on a platter and sprinkle with a pinch of kosher salt and a few grinds of black pepper.  Turn the slices over and season the other sides with salt and pepper as well.  Grill the slices over direct medium-high heat for a few minutes per side or until nice grill marks appear and zucchini is tender.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

Other Ways with Cucumber and Zucchini

• Sweet and Spicy Cucumber Salad with Fresh Dill
• Tzatziki
• Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread
• Zucchini and Tomato Gratin

Cukes and Zukes from other Summer Fest Attendees:

• Margaret from A Way to Garden talks about Refrigerator Zucchini Pickles
• Zucchini Appetizers from Alison at the Food2 Blog
• Jennifer and Mark of The Gilded Fork share information on summer squash and a recipe for Chilled Cucumber Mint Soup and Jennifer discusses cucumber as a beauty treatment at Food Philosophy
• 10 Things You Didn’t Know You Could Make with Zucchini from Michelle at Devour The Blog
• Liz from Food Network’s Healthy Eats discusses Health Benefits of Cucumbers and Zucchini
• Caron from San Diego Foodstuff discusses cucumber varieties and shares recipes for Cucumber and Radish Confetti Soup and Zucchini Pancakes
• Kirsten at The FN Dish is in love with Paula’s Zucchini Bread
• Prosciutto, Sour Cream, and Feta Stuffed Cucumbers from Todd and Diane of White on Rice Couple
• Paige at The Sister Project is overrun with zucchini and making Summer Squash Bread Pudding
• Cucumber and Sesame Salad from Kelly at Just a Taste
• Tara at Tea & Cookies shares recipes for Stuffed Zucchini, Zucchini “Noodles”, and Zucchini Pickles
• Cucumber Mint Sorbet with Lime Shortbread is brought to us by Alana at Eating from the Ground Up
• Caroline from The Wright Recipes shares Cucumber Salad with Lemons and Poppy Seeds and Marinated Summer Squash Salad
• 50 Ways with Cucurbits from Tigress in a Pickle
• Cate from Sweetnicks shares a recipe for Indian Cucumber Wraps
• Tips, tricks, and recipes for cucumbers and zucchini including Fried Stuffed Zucchini Blossoms from Judy at Over a Tuscan Stove
• Shauna from Gluten-Free Girl and The Chef discusses how she came to love cucumbers and shares a recipe for Cucumber Soup that can be frozen as popsicles.

How You Can Join in Summer Fest 2010

Have a recipe or tip that fits any of our weekly themes? Starting with our posts of Wednesday, July 28, for five Wednesdays, you can contribute in various ways, big or small.

Contribute a whole post, or a comment—whatever you wish.  It’s meant to be fun, viral, fluid.  No pressure, just delicious.  Simply leave your tip or recipe or favorite links in the comments below a Summer Fest post on my blog, and then go visit my collaborators and do the same.

The cross-blog event idea works best when you leave your recipe or favorite links (whether to your own blog or someone else’s) at all the host blogs. Yes, copy and paste them everywhere! That way, they are likely to be seen by the widest audience. Everyone benefits, and some pretty great dialog starts simmering.

Or think bigger: Publish entire posts of your own, if you wish, and grab the juicy Summer Fest 2010 tomato badge (illustrated by Matt of Mattbites.com).

Upcoming Summer Fest 2010 Posting Schedule

7/28: Cukes and Zukes
8/4: Corn
8/11: Herbs, Greens, and Beans
8/18: Stone Fruit
8/25: Tomatoes

While I haven’t always been a huge fan of beets – I swore they tasted like dirt when I was a kid – I will always eat them pickled.  To be honest, I’ll eat almost anything once it’s pickled (I still won’t eat pigs feet), but pickled beets are especially good thanks to the natural sugars present in the bright red root.

While there are tons of recipes for pickled beets out there, I want to share my Aunt Kathy’s method for pickling beets.  It’s simple and the results are absolutely delicious.  She douses the cooked beets with vinegar, seasons them with salt and pepper, and stores them in the fridge.  It’s really that easy.  The sweet and sour beets are a wonderful addition to salads, but I also like to eat them alone as a snack.

I will warn you that my family might have a higher tolerance of vinegar than some of you out there – these beets are more sour than sweet.  But I think they’re wonderful!

You may cook the beets using your favorite method, but for this recipe I think it’s easiest to peel and chop them and then steam until tender.  If you prefer to roast, boil, or steam the beets whole, just peel then chop them into small pieces once they’re cool enough to handle, then proceed with the recipe.

Put the cooked beet pieces in a container and add the vinegar, a couple generous pinches of salt, and some fresh ground black pepper.  We sometimes add some extra virgin olive oil as well.  Store the beets, covered, in the refrigerator and eat them when you feel like it – they will taste great within a couple hours.  If you’re sensitive to vinegar, rinse the beets before eating.  You could also dilute the vinegar with water.

Aunt Kathy’s Pickled Beets

Four cups of peeled and chopped beets (2 small bunches)
1 cup red wine vinegar (or vinegar of your choice)
extra virgin olive oil, to taste (optional)
salt and pepper, to taste

Steam chopped beets for 35 – 45 minutes, or until tender.  Make sure to put enough water beneath the steamer and check occasionally that the level is okay – if all the water evaporates, you will burn up your pot (I know this from experience)!  Put cooked beets in a bowl, add vinegar, a couple generous pinches of salt and some freshly ground black pepper.  You may add a bit of extra virgin olive oil for flavor if desired.   Store beets, covered, in the refrigerator until ready to eat.  I like to stir them up a few times during the first day so that they all get evenly coated with vinegar.  They will be good to eat within a few hours, but can be stored in the vinegar for up to a week.

Related Recipes:

• Double Dark Chocolate Beets Muffins
• Sweet and Sour Grilled Pumpkin
• Slow-Roasted Cherry Tomatoes
• Sweet and Spicy Cucumber Dill Salad

Around the Web:

• Pickled Beets from Simply Recipes
• Pan-Pickled Beets from A Veggie Venture
• Pickled Beets from Muffin Top
• Pickled Beets from Alton Brown

This Lebanese salad is a perfect way to use up stale pita bread, but it’s so good that you’ll want to buy (or make) extra pita to ensure you’ll always have some left over for Fattoush.  The lemony garlic dressing spiked with sumac is what really makes this salad shine – I think I would eat just about anything as long as it was drenched in that concoction! The crisp pita soaks up and helps balance the tart dressing while the garden fresh vegetables and herbs make this a summer classic.  You really need to try it.

I’ve been reading Kalyn’s Kitchen for about as long as I’ve known about food blogs and I continue to be inspired by her quick, healthy recipes and simple approach to cooking.  With a focus on whole foods, seasonal ingredients, and the use of fresh herbs and spices, Kalyn shows us that cooking and eating real food is fun, easy, and a delicious way to stay healthy.

Fattoush recipe at Kalyn’s Kitchen
Become a fan of Kalyn’s Kitchen on Facebook
Follow Kalyn on Twitter

Previous Food Blog Fridays:

• Spice-Rubbed Flank Steak from Blue Kitchen
• Lemon Buttermilk Popsicles from Whipped
• Apricot Almond Tart from Tartelette
• Blueberry Orange Cornmeal Pancakes from Satisfied
• Luscious Lemon Bars from Alpineberry

Bacon is good.  Bacon with tart cherry balsamic glaze is even better.  The nice thing about this dish is that once you pour this delicious glaze over a pile of healthy green beans, and you don’t even have to feel guilty about the bacon.

This is easy enough to be thrown together for a weeknight meal, but after you taste it you’ll want to serve it at a dinner party.  It might even find its way to your holiday table.  It’s that good.

If you’re not a fan of green beans, or if you tend to prefer meat with your bacon, try this glaze spooned over a grilled pork tenderloin – trust me, you’ll love it.

Green Beans with Tart Cherry Balsamic Glaze

3 slices bacon
1 small shallot, diced
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup dried tart cherries
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 pound green beans, trimmed and rinsed
kosher salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

In a saute pan, cook the bacon until brown and crisp. Remove bacon and let drain on a paper towel then remove all but 1 tablespoon of bacon drippings from the pan. Add shallots to the pan and let cook over medium-low heat for a few minutes until softened and just starting to brown. Add chicken broth and stir up any brown bits left from the bacon. Add cherries and balsamic vinegar and bring to a boil. Turn heat down to low and let simmer, stirring occasionally until thick and syrupy, 15-20 minutes.

While glaze is reducing, steam green beans until crisp-tender. When glaze is reduced to a syrupy state, season to taste with salt and pepper. Add steamed green beans to pan with the glaze and toss until they are lightly coated. Remove green beans to a platter using tongs, then pour remaining glaze and cherries over the top of the beans. Crumble the bacon slices over the beans and serve.

Yield: 4 servings

I’m not sure what the weather is like in your neck of the woods, but here in California it’s definitely grilling season.  While I’m a big fan of grilled meat, I think I might like grilled squash even more.  Usually I do nothing more than dress some zucchini slices with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper before tossing them on the grill, but I wanted to do something a little different with the gorgeous yellow squash I picked up at the Farmer’s Market last week.  I hope you enjoy it!

Grilled Yellow Squash with Fresh Dill Vinaigrette and Feta

4 – 6 small yellow squash (or zucchini)
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons sherry vinegar (or substitute your favorite vinegar)
2 tablespoons fresh chopped dill
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 shallot, sliced
salt and pepper to taste
4 – 6 small yellow squash (or zucchini)
crumbled feta cheese

1. Preheat gas grill or prepare coals for charcoal grill
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together mustard, vinegar, and chopped dill.  Slowly whisk in olive oil, season with salt and pepper to taste, then stir in shallot slices;  set aside.
3. Slice squash in half, lengthwise, then add them all to the bowl of vinaigrette.  Toss to coat.
4. Remove squash from marinade and grill over medium-high heat for a couple of minutes on each side until grill marks appear and the squash is just tender.  Remove to a plate, spoon remaining vinaigrette over the squash and sprinkle with crumbled feta cheese.  Serve immediately.

Related Recipes:

• Grilled Corn, Mango, and Jicama Salad
• Bacon-Wrapped Beef Medallions with Smoked Paprika Butter
• Grilled Peaches with Blue Cheese and Honey

Around the Web:

• Grilling Vegetables 101 from Bitchin’ Camero
• Grilled Balsamic Summer Squash from Rookie Cookie
• Grilled Zucchini Greek Salad from Kalyn’s Kitchen
• Grilled Zucchini with Sour Cherry Couscous from Fig & Cherry

This is the simplest of salads and a perfect way to usher in the summer that suddenly seems to be in a big hurry to arrive here in Central California.  Cucumbers have always been one of my favorite vegetables, so when I saw some beautiful, young Armenian cucumbers at the farmer’s market on Saturday, I couldn’t resist picking up a couple.  This simple cucumber side dish would be a perfect accompaniment to grilled meat or fish, but I usually eat it as an afternoon snack.

Sweet and Spicy Dilled Cucumber Salad

1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
pinch of crushed red pepper (to taste)
pinch of salt (to taste)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
2 medium cucumbers (peeled if desired), thinly sliced

Whisk together vinegar, sugar, crushed red pepper, and salt until the sugar is dissolved; whisk in chopped fresh dill.  Place sliced cucumbers in a bowl and pour dressing over them.  Toss well with a spoon until all of the slices are coated with dressing.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes; stir once or twice while it is marinating.  The salad can also be made ahead and refrigerated overnight.

Related Recipes:

• Blood Orange and Green Olive Salad
• Tangerine and Jicama Salad with Garlic and Cilantro
• Grilled Corn, Mango and Jicama Salad with Honey Vinaigrette
• Broccoli Salad with Bacon and Raisins

Around the Web:

• Thai Cucumber Salad from Cookin’ Canuck
• Cucumber Salad with Mint and Feta from Simply Recipes
• Spicy Shrimp and Cucumber Salad from Kalyn’s Kitchen
• Cucumber and Heirloom Tomato Salad from Gluten-Free Goddess
• Scandinavian Cucumber Salad from Just Hungry

I grew up in central California where I certainly ate my fair share of artichokes over the years.  And during those four years I spent in Sicily, I probably ate way more than my fair share.  Sorry, it couldn’t be helped.

My standard way of cooking/eating artichokes is to steam them whole then peel off the leaves one by one, dipping each into mayo before scraping off the tiny bits of artichoke “meat” with my teeth.  I continue to do this until I have ingested way more mayonnaise than any person needs to consume in one sitting (as evidenced by the huge pile of artichoke leaves towering in front of me by the time I’m done) and I have made my way to the heart, which I carefully trim and clean before eating it with even more mayo.  Don’t judge.

In Sicily it was different.  There, I mostly ate smaller artichokes that were drizzled with fruity olive oil and grilled over an open flame.  Delicious.

Of course I eat artichokes in lots of other ways, too.  I love stuffing them with a mixture of bread crumbs, garlic, Pecorino, and fresh herbs.  I love artichoke hearts prepared just about any way you can imagine (especially breaded, fried, and drizzled with tart lemon-butter).  I love cheesy, bubbling artichoke dips.  I love artichoke soups.

While I do enjoy eating artichokes in a variety of ways, I haven’t branched out much when cooking whole artichokes.  I’ve steamed them and boiled them and occasionally finish partially steamed or boiled artichokes on the grill – but that’s about it.  So when I ran across this method for Simple Roasted Artichokes yesterday, I knew I had to give it a try.

I started with these gorgeous artichokes that I picked up at a fruit stand in Gilroy the other day.  I love living in California.

First, I sliced off the top third of the artichoke with a sharp knife.  All of that is inedible, so you aren’t wasting anything by doing this.  Plus, it looks so pretty!

Next, I cut off the stem right at the base of the artichoke.  The stem is edible if peeled, so you can save it if you want.  Mine didn’t come with much of a stem anyway, so I didn’t bother saving it.

With the stems cut this way the artichokes will sit up nicely on their own.  Aren’t they cute?

Now tear off a large square of heavy duty aluminum foil, drizzle it with a few drops of olive oil, and smear it around a bit.  Place one artichoke in the middle of the foil and open up the leaves a bit with your fingers.  Tuck a few peeled garlic cloves into the artichoke.  Sprinkle kosher salt all over it then squeeze lemon juice and drizzle olive oil over the top.  I used half a lemon per artichoke and probably drizzled a tablespoon or so of oil (maybe more).

Once you’ve seasoned it, wrap the foil up around the artichoke, sealing it well.  If you don’t have heavy duty aluminum foil, wrap it with an extra sheet of the regular kind.  Repeat with as many artichokes as you want.  Place wrapped artichokes in a pan and roast in a preheated 425 degree oven for one hour and 15 minutes.  If you are using small artichokes, one hour is good.  Jumbo artichokes might take an hour and a half.

After removing them from the oven, let artichokes sit until cool enough to handle, then unwrap.  The garlic will be soft and sweet and delicious – you’ll probably want to eat that first.

Next, start peeling off the leaves one by one, and enjoy the garlicky, lemony, salty olive oil as you scrape each one with your teeth.  I didn’t even need mayonnaise!

If you’ve never dealt with a whole artichoke before, you might be a little confused/intimidated when it comes to finding the heart.  I’m here to help.  Remove all the leaves until it looks something like this.

Grab the remaining leaves with your fingers, grasp the bottom of the artichoke with your other hand, and pull.

The whole thing should pop right off like a cap, leaving some furry-looking stuff behind.

Take a spoon and gently scrape out the fur (no, it’s not actually fur).

What you have left is what I call the heart, but might be more accurately described as the artichoke bottom.  Whatever you want to call it, it’s my favorite part!

The fork is only there for show – I always eat the entire artichoke with my hands (licking my fingers along the way).

While they did take a long time to roast, these artichokes were definitely worth the wait!  They were simple to prepare and simply delicious.  Next time I’ll probably add even more garlic cloves because the roasted garlic was one of the best parts.

In case my photos weren’t enough to illustrate the process, here’s a video that shows you the exact same method.  Give it a try!