Black Bean Mango Salsa

Sorry for the delay. I know you've all been waiting for the now infamous BBM Salsa.... Quite delicious and probably also good on fish or as a side salad

1 can black beans rinsed and drained

1 cup diced mango chopped the Janet Cook way...

1 roma tomato chopped coarsely, or very tiny, Leigh's strategy.

1/2 cup yellow pepper diced

1/2 cup orange pepper diced

1/4 cup red onion finely diced

1TBS jalapeno minced, with seeds for more heat

1TBS cilantro chopped

2TBS lime juice squeezed

Salt to taste

Next up: canned peaches...

SALSA COMPETITION

Here we (Lyn, Janet, Leigh) are last Saturday dishing up salsa at the Holland Farmer's Market salsa competition. About 16 teams. All different kinds of salsa with varying degrees of burn. The guy next to us, who was wearing hot pepper apron and chef's hat, promoted his entry as "applesauce with a little bite." NOT. Not little. We pitched many, many of those sample cups that his customers couldn't finish because of its vicious hotness. But he won a prize, and we didn't, so ... next year we need to ramp it up.

Most of the kids gave our salsa a big thumbs up, though! I'll get Lyn to post the recipe. It was beautiful, tasty and contained complete protein ... so, healthy too! You could eat it for salad or as an accompaniment for fish or poultry.

Our spiel: "Our salsa speaks for itself."

Corn-Cucumber Tabouli

Here's a recipe I made up last week when we were having some friends over for a Doctor Who night and needed something to go with the crackers and cheese. It turned out so well that we made it again last night.

CORN-CUCUMBER TABOULI

4 ears of corn, steamed and cut from the cob
2 small cucumbers, diced
1 small red onion, diced
1 large tomato, diced
1/4 cup fresh mint, minced
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 Tbl sugar
1/2 tsp tabasco sauce
salt and pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

Basically, once you've cooked the corn and diced everything, the assembly of this salad involves throwing everything in a bowl and mixing well. If you want the flavors to meld a bit, assembling it earlier in the day helps, and also allows time for the corn to cool. Otherwise, it is also tasty at room temperature!

Maple-Mustard Dressing

Our friend Minerva recently suggested we check out The Veganomicon by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero (2007). It bills itself as the "ultimate vegan cookbook," and although we aren't vegan (honey! cheese! ice cream!) we had such good luck with the vegan cookie book offered by this same pair that our brains just went "what the hell!" and we checked it out of the library. 

So far, one of the winner recipes has been this tasty maple-mustard dressing (p. 93):

3 Tbl maple syrup (maple-agave, agave or honey also works ... but maple syrup!!)

2 Tbl apple cider vinegar

2 Tbl mustard (Dijon is tasty, but choose your favorite)

3 Tbl olive oil (or oil of choice ... you getting the idea?)

salt and pepper to taste

Mix ingredients together and combine well (we've had good luck putting them in a jam jar and shaking with the lid firmly sealed). Store in the fridge; this will keep well for several weeks.  

"Veg Mix": A Recipe from Kevin

Hanna and I just got back from Hanna's parents' home in Maine, where they preside over an abundant vegetable garden and three chickens who provide lovely, lovely eggs (especially, says Hanna, if you feed them comfrey from the plants in front of the house).

Future summer squash.

We eat well and plentifully when we are in Maine, thanks to Hanna's father Kevin who does most of the cooking. And we always come home with bags and boxes filled with vegetables picked straight from the garden and canned goods -- hot pepper jelly, strawberry jam, pickled beets, and more.

A happy hen
(a Buff Orpington, Hanna says).

We have more than one recipe on file from Kevin (the "file" being a blue folder stuffed with bits of paper -- something that deserves a post of its own one of these days!), but I thought I'd share this one with you because it's so good for using up summer veggies. We find that the amounts listed here are roughly good for a two-person meal, with some possibly left over for lunch the next day. Expand as necessary and improvise with the veggies you happen to have around. The scrap of yellow notepaper just describes this as "Veg Mix" though I think technically it did come from a recipe book at one point. We have also been known to call it "that tasty veggie squodge" around here.

Lunch at the Clutterbucks

VEG MIX (BY KEVIN)


2 large carrots, grated
1 large zucchini, grated
1 large onion, diced
2-3 oz feta cheese
1/4 cup white flour
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp curry powder
1 Tbl parsley
Salt and pepper as desired
1 large egg

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit and use olive oil to grease a 9" glass pie plate or equivalent baking dish.

2. Mix grated carrots, zucchini, onion, and feta in a medium bowl.

3. Mix flour and spices together, then toss with veggies until coated.

4. Whisk egg and then add to veggie mix using hands to thoroughly combine.

5. Press into baking pan and cook for 20-30 minutes until the top begins to look slightly golden and crusty.

6. Serve hot, cut into wedges, as a main or side dish. Reheats beautifully and is also tasty cold.

In Celebration of the Biscuit

Our favorite restaurant for breakfast in Holland is The Biscuit; it's in the neighborhood, lots of interesting choices like Veggie Hash and Spanish Bennies, and of course delicious fresh made biscuits. According to the NYT this week, there has been some debate about how to make the best biscuits (see link) and the NYT has weighed in with a couple of winning recipes using regular flour, levening, a little sugar, milk and butter in one; and cake flour (whaaaa?)in the other. I guess it's the difference between flaky vs crumbly. I vote flaky. In any case, check out the article which also includes a recipe for sausage gravy. Below I have added a Cooking Light recipe for Ham and Cheese "Scones." I say they are more like biscuits and so easy.

Ham and Cheese Biscuits

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 3 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into small pieces
• 3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded reduced-fat extra-sharp cheddar cheese
• 3/4 cup finely chopped 33%-less-sodium ham (about 3 ounces)
• 3/4 cup fat-free buttermilk
• 2 large egg whites
• Cooking spray

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 400°.
• Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and pepper in a large bowl; cut in butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in cheese and ham. Combine buttermilk and egg whites, stirring with a whisk. Add to flour mixture, stirring just until moist.
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; knead lightly 4 to 5 times with floured hands. Pat dough into an 8-inch circle on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Cut dough into 8 wedges, cutting into but not through dough. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes or until lightly browned.

Cooking Light
SEPTEMBER 2002

NOT POTATO SALAD . . .

POTATO SALAD.

I've always wanted to do that! Destination of peels and shells: our compost heap. Destination of potato salad: Mark's 60th birthday picnic. No recipe, because it's pretty standard potato salad.