Feeling pea green

Everything has popped.  As I walk the streets of my neighborhood, bright colors are bursting at every corner.  

Over the last two weeks, it's as if people are coming out of hibernation, and I can't shake the feeling that I'm in the Wizard of Oz, seeing the emerald city for the first time.  It's that special moment when Dorothy steps out of black and white into technicolor. 

I've been buying big bushels of beautiful green granny smith apples that I intend to make an apple tart out of.  The problem is, they look too good to eat.

Green of all shades is everywhere, and it's about this time of year that I want to start cooking with peas and mint.  Maybe it's a bit early, but on a warm day, anything with mint is refreshing.  I've been making a pretty pitcher of peppermint iced tea and topping it with sprigs of mint.  Poured over ice, I love the way it makes the glass sweat at the table.

My Mom used to make sun tea nearly every day during the hot, sticky Indiana summers.  She'd fill a big glass jar that had a yellow plastic lid and a spout at the bottom with tea bags and water and let it bake from morning till dusk.  When the sun went down, she put it on the top shelf of our fridge so we could help ourselves.  I remember her drinking iced tea all day long in the blue glasses I now have in my kitchen cabinet.  

It's the combination of mint and peas that makes one of my favorite spring and summer snacks. Crostini, a thin grilled toast usually made out of Italian ciabatta bread, is a great thing to serve at a moment's notice.  I have them for lunch, as a light snack with a cold beer, or if I'm having people for dinner, I serve a big tray with lots of different toppings and a well-chosen cocktail.  If you make a topping with an interesting combination of flavors, no one will ever know you're just serving them fancy toast.  

Jamie Oliver, who inspires me in so many ways,  makes several topping suggestions for crostinis in his book, Jamie's Italy.  I particularly adore the pea and broad bean (fava bean in the US) puree with pecorino which I'll get to in a minute.  Other great ideas are: prosciutto, figs and mint; buffalo mozzarella and chilli with basil leaves; squashed canellini beans with garlic, little heirloom grape tomatoes and chopped olives. 

My mother would be proud, I believe, if she knew how obsessed I am with eating my greens.  If you are too, try this from the same book: Take 3 handfuls of cavolo nero (dark green long leaves with a thick vein and little leaf curl), spinach, cabbage or swiss chard- any greens you can find at the store.  Add 3 cloves of garlic to a pan of salted water and bring to the boil.  Add the greens and cook until tender.  Squeeze out the excess water and mash the garlic.   Stir together and season well with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.  Drizzle with olive oil and serve on top of the crostinis with a final dose of olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice.  

If you're not inspired yet to get the ciabatta out, try slicing some in larger pieces. Grill them and then rub with a garlic clove cut in half.  Tear up some field mushrooms and fry with a little olive oil adding finely chopped red chilli, garlic and thyme.  Finish with a little butter and a squeeze of lemon.  Served atop the grilled bread with a simple green salad and a mustard vinaigrette, it's one of my very favorite suppers.  Just another of Jamie's genius ideas from Jamie at Home.

The recipe below calls for broad beans which I used to buy in great big bags still in their pods.  Plucking them from their soft fuzzy beds was bliss, but alas, I cannot find them in Chicago yet.  I can't even find them frozen.  A proper search must be started.  Maybe it's not the season, although my research tells me it is.  I do love broad beans in lots of dishes so I have been sad not to find them.  Risotto with broad beans and gorgonzola is a creamy treat.  If I don't have the fava/broad beans at home, I simply make this with peas and it's still very, very good.

The combination of the peas, beans and mint make the brightest viridescent mixture, much like mushy peas.  It's hard not to be smile just looking at it.  The pea green puree is balanced perfectly with the zing of lemon juice and the saltiness of the pecorino cheese.  Season and taste as you go to get it just right.

Crostini

Adapted from Jamie's Italy by Jamie Oliver

1 loaf of ciabatta bread, cut into 1/2 inch slices

1 large clove of garlic, peeled and cut in half

good quality extra virgin olive oil

Grill both sides of your dry slices of ciabatta on the barbecue or in a grill pan over high heat until bread is toasted and lovely golden marks cross each slice.

While they're still hot, rub them gently with the cut side of the garlic.  This step is key and adds so much flavor to any crostini.  Drizzle with good quality extra virgin olive oil and finish with your choice of topping.

Pea and Broad Bean Puree with Pecorino

Adapted from Jamie's Italy by Jamie Oliver

small handful of mint leaves

1 cup of peas (freshly podded preferably)

1 cup of broad beans (fava beans) (also freshly podded if you can find them)

large handful of grated pecorino or Parmesan (I prefer pecorino)

2-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 tbsp lemon juice

salt and pepper

In a pestle and mortar or a food processor, smash up the mint, peas and broad beans until they look like mushy peas.  Add a large handful of freshly grated pecorino, then loosen with the extra virgin olive oil.  At this point, see how loose the mixture is and add the lemon juice.  You may need to add a bit more of both, but add your salt and pepper and then adjust the flavor.  Most importantly, taste as you go and add more lemon juice, olive oil  or cheese needed.  

Smear over hot crostini, finish with some grated pecorino a few sprigs of mint.  

The brat stop

It's been a busy week. Apart from trying to survive near monsoon conditions rolling through Chicago, I made a trip up to Milwaukee with my boss. The only glimmer of hope I had for a long day on the road was the possibility of stopping at The Brat Stop in Kenosha on my way home. I'd never even been to Wisconsin, but everyone knows it's famous two things: cheese and bratwurst. I'm not afraid to admit that I'm a fan of all types of sausage - anything from hot dogs to Toulouse sausages. As I turned off of the highway, I was pleased to find the sign out front did not disappoint.

The huge restaurant was packed with the lunch crowd- regulars or those just passing through. We both ordered the traditional pork bratwurst from the "Wurst Menu" and I chose the German potato salad and a side of sauerkraut. It was warm and had a vinegary, yet sweet sauce, and I remember a similar version from my childhood. The American potato salad was deliciously creamy and packed with fresh chives. When I slid into the booth, I had to brush an enormous amount of crumbs off of the seat which I thought was clearly the work of a small child. Not so. The warm, crusty, home made buns were extremely flaky and neither my seat or my lap escaped the mess.

Condiments are always extremely key. The waiter brought tubs of essential chopped onion and relish. Best of all, the horseradish mustard was spicy and the perfect topping. We dug in with a baseball game and day-time soaps blaring in the background. As we left to get back on the road, we made a quick tour of the little shop selling all kinds of cheeses, including the infamous cheese curds, summer sausage and Wisconsin paraphernalia. I know I'll be heading back to Milwaukee soon and it's nice to know I have a great place to stop.

Later in the week, when the weather warmed up, we put some of our own brats on the grill. This time, I served them with my Mom's cucumber salad and some sweet potato fries. I don't always make sides to go with a barbecue- especially if it's a week night. A can of baked beans, freshly sliced tomatoes, and I'm ashamed to say, mac n' cheese, are all typical accompaniments to a barbecue at my house. I just bought Ina Garten's new book and have been cooking a lot from it lately. The sweet potato fries are fantastic and are the most vibrant orange and make normal potato fries look dull.

Baked Sweet Potato Fries

Adapted from Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics by Ina Garten

3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp light brown sugar

1/2 tsp kosher salt, plus extra for sprinkling

1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

1/2 tsp cumin

Preheat the oven to 450F. Halve the sweet potatoes lengthwise and cut each half into 3-4 long spears. Place them on a sheet pan and toss with the olive oil. Spread the potatoes in one layer. Combine the brown sugar, salt, pepper and cumin and sprinkle on the potatoes. Bake for 15 minutes, then turn with a spatula. Bake for another 5 - 10 minutes until lightly browned. Sprinkle with salt and serve hot.

Summer Cucumber Salad

Serves 4

2 cucumbers, peeled and sliced thin

1 sweet onion, halved and sliced thin

1 cup of greek yogurt

1/2 cup of sour cream

1 tbsp white wine vinegar

1/4 cup chopped fresh dill

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper (season to taste once combined)

A note about the cucumber salad. Some people prefer hot house cucumbers (which are all I ever knew in the UK) because the normal cucumbers we get here in the US can taste bitter, but I like their flavor. Either kind of cucumber will do.

Dreams of self sufficiency

If there's one thing I thought I wouldn't miss when I left London was the obsession with weather. It's either too warm or too cold... too much rain or even more complaints when a water ban is put in place. I learned to be at ease with the London weather, eventually. Chicago has had it's share of bitterly cold weather this year and I find myself glued to local weather man, Tom Skilling, with wide eyes as he's just mentioned temperatures in the eighties for next week.

Yesterday, I started the day with a cup of coffee on the patio, shockingly without a woollen sweater. I topped half an English muffin with some of the lemon curd I picked up in Michigan at American Spoon and several plump blackberries. The sweet and tangy curd with the ripe berries was a delicious start.

As the sun continued to shine, we raced to the beach with the dog before the forecasted clouds could spoil our mood. But the warmth continued and I headed straight to the garden center, determined to put some vibrant flowers in the window boxes and start sprucing up the roof deck. I never dreamed of a day when I would trade in my gorgeous little urban garden in London. Complete with a dizzying fragrant jasmine awning over a tiny wooden bench and my favorite hydrangeas, it was a quiet oasis in Hackney.

Sunny days in London seemed few and far between, although I remember several summers that were just stunning and when the sun does shine there, I don't know if there is a more beautiful place on earth. Everyone becomes giddy. Men walk around shirtless, with pasty white skin flaunted outside pubs where the beer flows freely. You feel lucky to be alive, and those few stolen rays are never taken for granted.

Naive as I am, I've decided to grow some heirloom tomatoes on the roof deck that gets scorching hot and has very little, if any, shade. Secretly, I'm dreaming of serving bountiful plates of Aunt Ruby's German Greens and Black Krims seasoned liberally and sprinkled with extra virgin olive oil. I've also added a few pots of Serrano chilies to fuel my obsession with the spicy plant. My little green fingers will be the envy of all of my neighbors and I will feel a completeness within my soul that can only ever come from eating things you've grown yourself.

This dream is contingent on many things. Firstly, it's supposed to be damn cold again this Tuesday with rains threatening to wash my tiny seedlings away. Secondly, I am not very green fingered. I don't automatically kill plants, but they never seem to thrive under my attention. I either over water or under water. It's a very fine line. Lastly, I'm most nervous about the idea of removing the little shoots from their cow pots into real pots of soil. When I pried open the seed packets, my eyes met minuscule writing giving instructions for "staking" and a large sectioned label "Problems" where the disastrous results seemed unavoidable.

Enough of the worry. I'll haul water up to my deck in bucket loads if I have to. I'm even considering buying a water butt which seems very environmentally friendly and I'm sure will only add to the feeling of self-sufficiency that I'm hoping for.

It was one of those days where we're ambitious enough to have the season's first barbecue, sit outside and watch the Cubs fans walk past, drunk with a late win in the early season. I even roasted chicken to make chicken salad sandwiches to take to my sister's.

Chicken Salad Veronique

Adapted from Barefoot Contessa at Home by Ina Garten

4 split (2 whole) free range chicken breasts, bone in, skin on

good olive oil

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup good mayonnaise

1 1/2 tbsp chopped fresh tarragon leaves

1 cup small-diced celery (2 stalks)

1 cup green grapes, cut in half

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the chicken breasts, skin side up, on a sheet pan and rub with olive oil. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast for 35-40 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. Set aside until cool.

When chicken is cool, remove the meat from the bones and discard the skin and bones. Cut the chicken into 3/4 inch dice. In a bowl, combine the chicken, mayo, celery, tarragon 1 1/2 to 2 tsp salt, 1 tsp pepper and toss well.

I tend to add the grapes when I'm serving this as a salad and omit them when I put it on a sandwich.

Knowing that the clouds were rolling in, we pushed the window shutters wide and enjoyed the short-lived warm breeze as we sipped some Prosecco and watched the evening pass.