Toasted Almonds - A Little Thing

Sometimes the addition of one little thing to a dish will make a huge difference in flavor.  You may have heard the term umami recently.  Umami is just a little ingredient or technique that provides greater depth of flavor or perhaps even a "meatiness." even when it is a meatless dish.  Umami is often what makes the difference between a good dish and a great dish.

So I'm going to write some Little Pieces about some Little Things that I do.
 

Toasted Almonds

Toasted Almonds is Little Thing that will make a big difference.  And it is simple, simple, simple!

I add this to the top of a dish after it is already plated.  These toasted almonds will give you nice changes in texture, and when you get a piece in a bite, you'll have a big boost of flavor.

I have used it to to top dishes that have a base of quinoa, rice, farro, or roasted zucchini.  These are just what I have tried so far.  I wouldn't use it on a dish that already has lots of very strong flavors.  It will be lost there.  I've used it on warm salad type concoctions that are meatless and I have used it in dishes where I've added some salmon.
Now, you are probably thinking that you can buy already roasted almonds or slivered almonds.  The slivered almonds are just not a big enough so don't waste your money there.

Here's what I do.

Preheat oven to 350.
Take some whole natural or raw almonds and put them on your cutting board.  With a chef's knife, carefully chop across the pile a few times.  You'll need to cover them with your hand a little so the pieces don't go flying into the floor.  The goal here is to have random big pieces. You're trying to get each almond cut about one time but not necessarily in half.  Think abstract  art and don't try to be perfect.

I put the pieces in a trusty black skillet, but you can just use any pan, and put it in the oven for about 8-10 minutes.  Keep a close eye out so they don't burn.  You'll know they're ready when you can smell  a little change.  Pull them out and that's it!

You can make extra and store in an airtight container for another meal if you want.

Fried Squash Blossoms, Y'all!

These will disappear quickly!
(There are 2 fried basil leaves on this plate also.)

I don’t eat lots of fried foods, but THIS is worth it!  Fried Squash Blossoms, Y’all!!

I had read about these in some of those dreaming about  living in Italy books I like to read. 

I have read different folks’ take on them, and here is how I like to make them.  As usual, this is not an exact recipe because I just don’t cook that way.  I’ll tell you what I do and you make changes as you see fit.

Fried squash blossoms make a great appetizer, but they need to be eaten soon after they’re cooked.  That means the people who you’re feeding need to be visiting with you in the kitchen or they won’t get any.  It’s sort of a rule.

This is a male blossom.
You want to leave a little stem on for a handle.

This is a female bloom of butternut squash. You can see the
tiny squash at the base of the flower.  

First, you need to know that there are male and female blooms.  The female blooms will have a tiny squash at the bottom.  When that bloom gets pollinated, that baby squash will grow.  The male blooms don’t have anything at the bottom.  The blooms you need for this dish are the male blooms.  You can use the female blooms too, but it will cost you a future squash.  But maybe you WANT less squash!  

Some folks say that zucchini blossoms are best, but I’ve tried blossoms from zucchini, yellow squash, butternut squash, and spaghetti squash, and I never can remember which plant they came from by the time I get back to the house, and they all taste good.  Some blooms are bigger than others is the main thing I’ve noticed.  

You have to pick these blooms in the morning while they are wide open and fresh.  Later in the day they will start closing and will get more fragile.  Do shake out any little bee or critter that’s inside. Just make sure you don’t pick all the male blooms or there won’t be anybody there to provide pollen.  Remember your biology class.  It is possible to save blooms in the fridge for a day or maybe two.  I do it by putting a paper towel in the bottom of a good sized plastic container and putting them in that.  I like an ice cream container for this because it doesn’t cause them to be crushed.

Next, you need to pick out the stamen from the middle of the bloom.  That’s the part that has the pollen on it.  Do this right away because it’s harder to do after it’s been in the fridge.  

Now decide if you want filling or no filling.  In Italy they do both.  In my house, I do filling because that’s the best part to me.  Besides the crunchy outside.

Filling: 

Some folks use ricotta cheese, but I prefer Greek yogurt because it has more tang and flavor so….

• Greek yogurt - a good teaspoonful for every blossom 
• salt and pepper
• Lemon zest or a little bit of good lemon or lime juice (zest is best)
• I also use some chopped fresh thyme.  Use any herb you have that you think will taste good.
• Basil is also a good choice.

         Taste it and adjust for salt.

Batter:

• plain flour (I use whole wheat.)
• salt and pepper
• baking soda - this makes the batter foam which makes it lighter
• IF you have it, sprinkle in a little citric acid (the stuff in the canning section that keeps fruit from turning brown.)  I think it makes things foam more, and it adds zing.  
• water
• vodka if you have it — just a splash or two

I know you’re wondering about the vodka!  Vodka is good to use in any batter or pie crust because the alcohol evaporates faster than water.  Wine doesn’t work well—or it didn’t the one time I tried it just to see.  I don’t know about beer.  I think the sugar part doesn’t work in this.  So buy you some cheap vodka.  I’ll give you some more reasons to use it another day.

Stir it and keep adding liquid until is thinner than pancake batter.  You want this to be a thin coating.  

Take your teaspoon and put a spoonful of filling in each blossom.  Sort of twist or just bring together the ends of the blossom.  

Heat your oil in a skillet.  It doesn’t have to be very deep at all, just a half inch or so. 

I put it on medium heat.  You want them to cook fairly quickly.  If they cook too slowly, the filling will get too melty.  

If I only have 6 or 7 to do, I use my medium skillet so it doesn’t require as much oil.  Now, I use olive oil for this because that’s what they use in Italy and because that’s what Mario Batalli would use.  If I were smarter, I would probably use another oil.  Use what you want to use.

Dip the blossoms one at a time in the batter holding by the stem.  Make sure it is coated completely and let some of the excess batter drip off.  Next, carefully lay it in the hot oil.  You want to hear lots of sizzling!  By the time you get 3 in the oil, it will be time to turn over the first one.  Make sure it’s brown on the edges.  Turn it very carefully because you don’t want to puncture the blossom.  When it’s brown on the other side, take out with a slotted spoon or spatula and put it on a wire rack to drain over paper towels.  

*You want to use some sort of rack when you fry things because it will stay crunchy on the bottom and not have a soggy bottom that way.  

Immediately sprinkle with salt while the oil is still wet.  I especially like to use Rosemary Salt !

Let cool just a little and divide them very, very evenly between you and your loved one.  Do not cheat and get more!  (Well, if you’re the cook you CAN legally get an extra one.  This is called “The Cook’s Share.”) 

If all went well, the outside will be crisp and the inside will be soft and just warm.  Some may drip down your chin.  That’s perfect!  

Eat well, y’all!

Rosemary Salt – For a Delicious Finish

 

 Rosemary is one of my favorite herbs. It is wonderful on roasted vegetables and on chicken, fish, or shrimp. But here is a new favorite – rosemary salt! It is so simple to make and will add a delicious finishing touch to many of your favorite dishes. I like it best on roasted or fried potatoes and baked (or fried!) potato chips. I also love it on ANY roasted vegetables or meats.
This is one of the simplest things you will ever do!


You need:
coarse kosher salt
fresh rosemary

Gather fresh rosemary. If the stems are woody, strip the leaves off. If you gathered soft tips that you were able to pinch off with your fingers, then you can use stems and all. In a bowl layer coarse kosher salt and rosemary. You will use more salt than rosemary. Leave this uncovered just overnight. By morning the salt will have absorbed all the moisture (and flavor!) from the rosemary. Finally, put it in a covered jar, and it is ready to use!




     I like to use this as a “finishing” salt. By that I mean that after a dish is cooked I then add this last touch so that the flavor hits the tongue just right.  I often use plain chopped rosemary IN the dish as it is cooked and then add the special salt at the end for layers of flavor.

Missy's Special Herb Mixture

This is great for roasted vegetables or meat. (My daughter calls it “vegetable rub.”) You can also drizzle it on salad greens as a dressing. I drizzle it on sandwiches or on any kind of fritter. I sometimes mix a bit with Greek yogurt to make a creamy type salad dressing or to use in place of sour cream on potatoes or Mexican dishes. Truthfully, it will enhance the flavor of pretty much anything!


You don't have to have much of any one type of herb to make this concoction. And please know that this is not a “recipe,” it is maybe more of a method in which you can experiment and adapt and change to suit your tastes or what is in your garden right now.



Here's what to do:
Gather whatever herbs you have at the moment. What I use is:


rosemary (ALWAYS rosemary)
basil
lemon thyme
sage
crushed fresh garlic
olive oil
lemon juice
salt
If you like you can add some fresh hot pepper.





If you don't have all of these do not worry; just make it with what you have! If you have other herbs you like, then throw that in too. You can even do this with just one herb if you like!

Put the garlic in the blender first with a bit of olive oil and give it a whir. Then add everything else. You want to use more olive oil and just some lemon juice. (I started adding some lemon juice and salt because that keeps it from spoiling quickly.) Make it pretty wet. Whir it up real good. (How do you like that technical terminology?) Pour it in a jar and store in the fridge. That's it!

You can use this to flavor most anything.  You can drizzle it into a bowl of soup.   You can use it on any vegetable either roasted or sautéed or right on the plate.  I also enjoy it on fish.  This is also great in a vinaigrette

In any use,  I often use some in the cooking stage and then a little bit after the food is plated that way you get different flavors from the same ingredient.

*Note- I have started using more oil than what is pictured.  I love the flavored oil.

Quinoa With Roasted Veggies!

Quinoa (pronounced KEEN-WAH) is the most nutritious of all grains!  It is high in fiber, a good source of iron, and is a complete protein!  Quinoa is quick and easy to prepare.  It only takes about 20 minutes to cook!  It has a slight nutty flavor.  A bag will cost about 6 or 7 dollars, but you'll get 16 servings from it!  You won't need to use any meat in this dish because one serving has about 7 grams of protein.

To prepare quinoa, you need to look on the front of your bag and find out if yours has been pre-rinsed or not.  Quinoa naturally has a bitter coating on it when growing that keeps birds from wanting to eat it.  If yours has not been rinsed already, you'll need to rinse it well and drain it using a fine-mesh strainer.  The bag will give you instructions on that also.

You will cook it using a 2:1 ratio of water or broth to grain.  You cook it about like rice.  I like to add herbs and spices at this stage.  You'll cook it around 20 minutes or until it absorbs all the liquid.  You'll know it's ready when the baby roots are sticking out.  They look like tiny tails.

Now you can treat it like a warm salad, or a base for roasted vegetables, or use a simple sauce.   I haven't tried it yet as a baked dish, but I looked forward to trying that also.

Roasted Vegetables, Mushrooms, and Quinoa

Y'all know I don't use recipes often and this is another of those times.  Use whatever you have coming in from the garden or whatever vegetables you have.  You can't mess it up!

Yesterday I had just picked my first zucchini from the garden, so it had to be eaten for supper!  I roasted it and some tomato and onions and quickly sautéed some mushrooms.

Here's what I did:
Quinoa - 1/4 cup dry for each person.  Cook that up.
Zucchini - cut in a medium dice
Roma tomatoes - about one for each person--cut in a large dice
  or
Small handful of cherry tomatoes for each person - leave whole
Mushrooms - cut in quarters or halves.  I like this better than slicing because I feel like you get a better burst of flavor that way.

Heat the oven to 425 degrees.
Zucchini or other such veggies will take the longest so get them in the oven first.  Put the cut pieces in a big bowl and toss with olive oil or use Missy's Special Herb Mixture.  (Add additional oil if you use that.)  If you haven't already added herbs, then chop up whatever herbs you have.  I like to use rosemary for sure.  Then  mix up whatever dry spices you want to use.  At least use salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  Use cumin and turmeric if you have it.  Now sprinkle this dry mixture on the veggies stirring or tossing as you go.  Spread it all on a big sheet pan and put it in the oven.  Read more about Roasted Vegetables here.  Roasted Vegetables. Oh My!

Roast your tomatoes in a black skillet or thick pan.  Drizzle them with olive oil and add salt and garlic powder.  If using Romas, add a little lemon juice because they need a little acid.  Put them in the oven but keep an eye on them.  Pull them out when the edges get a little brown.  Add a little liquid like qhite wine to the pan to get up the little brown bits. (Flavor in the brown!)  Read how to make Roasted Tomatoes .

In a pan on the stove or in the oven, put a little bit of butter--a couple of pats--and some olive oil.  Let that just melt and then put in the mushrooms and get them coated fairly well.  Add more olive oil if you need to.  Add some salt and pepper and garlic and stir it all up.  Stick in the oven for just a few minutes.  8-10 probably.  Pull them out when the color just starts to change a little.  You want them to not be all shriveled and cooked down.

When the quinoa is ready, stir that into the pan with the roasted tomatoes and let them love on each other.  This is going to make it taste SO good!  Then when everything else is ready, either stir the zucchini and mushrooms in the dish or what I like to do is serve the quinoa and mushrooms on each plate and then top with the zucchini and mushrooms--mostly because I want my fair share of mushrooms!

I served this with some just-picked cucumber on the side---diced with salt, pepper, and lemon juice or vinegar.  Not swimming in the vinegar but just drizzled.

Eat well, Y'all!!  ~Missy