Full Gastronomic Tilt

June is drawing to a close, and in its wake is an exhausted and frazzled, yet strangely happy me. A month of change, of newness, June has presented many opportunities and challenges and left me feeling like I can leap tall buildings and solve a Rubik’s Cube blindfolded. Though I haven’t had the time to write it all down, I have been experimenting in the kitchen. There’s a small stack of recipes on my counter just waiting to be transcribed.

I’ve been going to the Asheville City Market every Saturday I’m in town, sometimes alone, usually with a friend in tow. Bill the Egg Man and I are on ever-increasing friendly terms. He shares my pain when I get there just a shade too late for his lovely eggs, and plies me with baby leeks instead. (Which are amazing IN the eggs) Yesterday he had a variety of potatoes on display, and some of the biggest zucchini I’ve ever seen. I picked out some purple potatoes and oohed over the zucchini. “Go ahead,” said Bill. “Two for $1.”

Little things.

I’ve been slowly teaching myself, with the help of two talented friends, how to take real pictures. When I started this blog I made an adamant declaration: “No Food Photography For Blogs 101.” And while I’m not going to share any tips and tricks, being such a novice myself, something magical happens when you are behind the lens of a real camera. I’ve been enjoying the process. Friends laugh at me when I exclaim over a picture that turned out reasonably well. “Look! It’s actually in focus! And it looks good!”

On that note, take a look at what I’ve been doing in the kitchen:

There have been nights where I’ve worked late, and Red Quinoa with Avocado and Nori has been my savior. Quick and satisfying, now a staple. I eat it at least twice a month.

Remember that Hippie Corn Chowder? I’m such a slacker…

One Saturday at the Farmer’s Market I encountered a basket of squash blossoms. Remembering something about how you can stuff, batter and fry them, I picked a few up. Later that afternoon while cleaning out my fridge, I found a black bean, corn and tomato mixture I had used for quesadillas earlier in the week. I stuffed the squash blossoms with the mixture layered with some monterey jack cheese and fried them in canola oil. Squash blossoms have an earthy sweet tang, and were quite enjoyable.

When Nikki showed up one day with a large bunch of rosemary, we adapted Amanda Hesser’s Vanilla Bean Loaves with a lemon glaze and incorporated chopped rosemary.

So far, the best meal of the summer has been this blackened tofu over sauteed beet greens. We tried two types of blackened seasoning - Bryant Terry’s from Vegan Soul Kitchen and my mom’s own mixture. Any type of crusted tofu is easy to make: press the tofu really well before using, brush with an egg wash or bit of olive oil and press into whatever mixture you’re using. Pan-fry in a dry skillet, five or so minutes per side. For the greens, just shred into bite-size pieces and saute in a Tablespoon of olive oil for several minutes, then add minced garlic, salt, and black pepper. The greens wilt but retain their structure.

We enjoyed the blackened tofu with some toasted sourdough bread and a semi-soft cheese, along with glasses of the best summer wine ever: Cristalino Brut Rosé Cava, a sparkling rosé that retails around $8 per bottle. Thanks to the Committee For The Advancement Of Rosé Drinking (i.e., Nikki the Francophile) and the guys at Appalachian Vintner, I’m keeping a bottle of this in my fridge at all times for the duration of summer.

Not treading a lot of new ground and sticking mostly to safe, simple and easy, but that’s okay. Food does not have to be complicated in order to taste good. The rest of the summer is yet to come.

How’s your summer going?