Squash Blossom Soup

Squash Blossom Soup

I love walking by a produce stand during the summer and seeing a big pile of squash blossoms. There bright color always catches me by surprise. Stuffing them with cheese and frying them seems to be their most familiar face on a menu. At home I find that too much work. I prefer them in a simple soup. Their delicate summer flavor deserves to be highlighted.

The following recipe is inspired by the cookbook author Diana Kennedy. Her book The Art of Mexican Cooking has been a staple in my kitchen since it was first printed in 1989. This recipe is so simple I don’t see the need to add any measurements or much direction.

Coarsely chop a big bunch of squash blossoms (remove the stems) and place into two large soup bowls. Heat some homemade chicken stock to a boil and pour over the chopped squash blossoms. Let your guests garnish the soup with chopped white onion, diced serrano chiles, queso fresco, chopped cilantro and a little chopped chipolte chile. If you want a more substantial soup – add some cooked white rice and shredded cooked chicken.

Serve with warm corn tortillas.

Italian Plum Cake

I love stone fruits – especially peaches, nectarines and plums. When I was a little kid we had a peach tree in the backyard and my mother said I would stand under the tree waiting for a peach to drop into my hands. Even now as an adult I am never prepared for the sweet juices that run down my face.

The Italian plum is sometimes called prune or Stanley. They ripen at the end of summer.

This recipe for Italian Plum Cake is from David Tanis’ cookbook “A platter of figs, and other recipes”. It’s pretty simple to make with very few ingredients.

Italian Plum Cake

1 cup unblanched almonds

1/2 cup sugar, plus about 1/4 cup for topping

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

1/2 cup whole milk

4 tablespoons sweet butter, melted

2 pounds Italian plums, pitted and sliced thickly

Preheat the oven to 350*F. Butter a 10-inch tart pan or springform pan. Put the almonds and 1/2 cup sugar in a blender or food processor and pulse until the nuts are finely ground. Add the flour and salt and pulse once more.

Transfer the mixture to a bowl. Beat the eggs with the milk and stir in the melted butter. Add the egg mixture to the almond mixture and whisk for a minute or two until the batter is smooth.

Pour the batter into the pan and smooth with a spatula. Arrange the plum slices on top in a circular pattern. Sprinkle sugar generously over the plums. Bake for 40 – 45 minutes. until the top is golden and a paring knife inserted into the center comes clean.

This cake is best served within a few hours of baking.

Kevin Kauer / Nark Eats Out

Kevin Kauer Eats Out

Kevin Kauer

I love Seattle. And Kevin is a big part of why I love it so much. There isn’t a trip or a reason when I’m there, that we don’t hang out together. He is an amazing party promoter, DJ and photographer and has included me at numerous events in Seattle. He is also one of my many vegetarian friends. Kevin is one of the gracious ones, that never has a problem following me around from restaurant to restaurant on my world-wide, never-ending meat tasting tour. Currently he is relaunching his amazing Nark Magazine in March. And he is also lining up things for his big Pride Party in June at Neumos (Friday, June 22nd) which will include Hi Fashion, JD Samson, Phyllis Navidad and Sharon Needles. Every Sunday you can find him at The Cuff and creating the Bottom Forty queer DJ Collective.

What is your favorite dessert?

I fell hard for island produced honey while consuming açaí bowls in Hawaii. I landed up finding the best around and ordering a tub of it – Royal Hawaiian Macadamia Nut Blossom, buy one -  seriously you won’t be disappointed. When it comes to desserts, layer it into some ice cream and wait until it freezes. It’s pretty much the bee’s knees – well, you get it.

What restaurant would you call your home?

Vegan / vegetarian restaurants are my favorite. Regardless of not being a meat-eater, I like to see how different places take on the task of creating alternatives to food that most people aren’t used to or instinctually dislike because it’s not “real”. I rarely make a trip to San Francisco without visiting Herbivore at least once, they have an array of delicious, creative and non-pretentious foods and desserts. At home in Seattle, I don’t think anyone handles their gourmet eats better than Cafe Flora, their vegan gluten-free pizza is the best I’ve had. Their cookbook is a great buy for any foodie, especially a vegetarian.

What is the strangest or most inspiring thing you’ve ever eaten?

The most inspiring food / cooking experience I’ve had was when I was staying out on a friend’s farmland. Getting to pull our eggs from the coop, and a wide array of produce right out of the ground, and then lay it out in front of us and come up with a meal was so great, made me wish I could have a garden and my own chickens! The salads were so refreshing, and we coddled one of Wine Dot’s eggs (that handsome chicken in the photo) to make the dressing.

Kevin answers my foodie questionnaire here:

What was your favorite breakfast cereal as a kid?

Fruity Pebbles, but my mom rarely ever bought it for me since it was basically kiddie crystal.

What is your favorite food to pig-out on after the club?

BURRITOS. Everyone knows this. I think I almost got a burrito tattoo last time I was in town actually. Sadly it doesn’t happen here in Seattle because there isn’t anywhere around with decent Mexican food (at least not on Capitol Hill), so we settle for our street meat; cream cheese and onion hot dogs (tofurkey dogs in my case), or Big Mario’s which may possibly have the best pizza anywhere, if you can deal with the block long line of drunken hipsters.

Brussels Sprout Leaves with Bacon

Brussels Sprout Leaves with Bacon

I’ve been making this simple side all winter long and it has not stopped being a favorite of my dinner guests. All the work is in separating the Brussels sprout leaves.

Cut out the stems and separate the sprouts into leaves. Thinly slice the tightly compact centers. Saute some diced onion and pancetta or bacon in olive oil until softened. Add the sprout leaves, season with salt, and moisten with a little white wine and water or chicken stock. Cover and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, until tender. Taste for seasoning, grind black pepper over, and serve.

Taken from Chez Panisse Vegetables by Alice Waters

Beets

This is another one of the out of print hand-screened books by my friend Bobby. I love the colors he used on the recipe screen. So pretty. And, this recipe is also absolutely delish!

Beet book cover

Moroccan Style Pickled Beets

2 large beets (any variety)

1 small red onion

1 cup white vinegar

1/2 cup sugar or honey

1 cup water

1 tablespoon salt

1 teaspoon toasted cumin and caraway seeds

Moroccan Style Pickled Beets

Heat the vinegar, sugar or honey, water and salt in a saucepan. Meanwhile, peel the beets and slice them and the onion into thin rounds. Place them and the spices into a thick walled glass jar or other suitable container. When the liquid boils, pour it over the vegetables. Allow to cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate. Use within a month. If you like, the pickling liquid can be reused; be sure to strain it first.

Ready for Dessert

Over the past 5 years I’ve completely stopped reading books. Well, except for cookbooks. I can somehow read a cookbook from cover to cover. I even enjoy reading how the index is written. Cookbook authors have different ways that they like to index things. I appreciate a good index. I love when an ingredient is listed in all areas that it is used. And, am terribly annoyed when recipes run for more than two pages!

I recently picked up the cookbook Ready for Dessert by David Lebovitz. In the mid 80′s David was the pastry chef at Chez Panisse. I spent many nights sitting at the private little table in the kitchen of Chez Panisse. And I always gushed when he would leave something extra on the table for us to try. He is currently living in Paris and has a really great food blog that I love to follow.

If you like to make ice cream I suggest you grab his book and try the Mexican chocolate. It is to die for.