Adventures with Chinese Long Beans

They're purple!

No really, Chinese Long Beans are purple! This made me all kinds of happy. But what to do with them? Well, some internet searching and conversing with Smita (who is now my go-to woman for all spice-related questions) led me to doing an experiment last night. And the experiment was universally accepted, even by the toddler. Simplicity was the word of the day, and we had Side Dish Win!

Simple but Savory Chinese Long Beans

1 bunch Chinese Long beans, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 small onion, sliced thinly

1 clove garlic, coarsely chopped

large pinch of salt

Penzey's Singapore Seasoning

1/4 c water

1 T olive oil

In a pan that comes with a lid, heat the olive oil. Add the long beans and onions. Saute for about 4 minutes and add the garlic and a pinch of salt, and then season liberally with the singapore seasoning. Continue sauteing another 5 minutes. Add water and quickly add the lid to the pan, then turn heat down to low. This will steam the beans so that they are done all the way through. Allow to steam for about 10 minutes.

From my internet research, I've learned that Chinese Long Beans are in the same family as green beans, only they are purple, longer, and much more fibrous, which is why they have to steam after they are sauteed. We served this next to one of our gifted freezer meals of chicken and broccoli in a casserole, so it served to bring a little extra spice, kick, and interest to the plates. My toddler ate only this and left the chicken and broccoli on his plate. Next year I will not be so hesitant to make these! It seems we have found some more beans that my husband is not allergic to! (anything in the green bean family is fine for him, and these as well as pole beans are fine! Yay!)

Breakfast Experiment: Baked Peach French Toast

My friend Heather brought over a giant dinner the other night (thank you Heather!) and included with it was this awesome bread. It was crusty like a french bread but the inside was eggy and it was so so yummy. Adam immediately thought, "hey French Toast!" for the leftovers, and I suddenly had this memory of a baked French Toast with peaches that I had had at a bed & breakfast in Cape Charles probably about 10 years ago. Obviously it stuck with me! So I made something up! Of course, I just dragged this recipe out of my ear so I have no real proportions. Next time I'll figure out how much of everything I used!

Baked Peach French Toast

a 9x13 baking dish, greased on the bottom

Enough bread to cover the bottom of the baking dish. Use a bread like french or some kind of eggy bread, cut into about 1/2 to 2/3 of an inch slices

1 very large peach, or 2 small peaches, peeled and sliced very thinly

2 eggs

an equal volume of milk to the egg volume

1 t of vanilla

1/8 c (or thereabouts) of sugar

a sprinkle of cinnamon

powdered sugar

The night before, Line the bottom of the greased baking dish with bread slices. Cover bread with peach slices.

In a separate bowl, combine eggs, milk, vanilla, sugar, and cinnamon and whisk well. Pour evenly over the bread and peaches. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.

The next morning, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake covered for 30 minutes, then uncovered for 10 minutes. Serve with sifted powdered sugar. 

Serves 3 people unless you're really hungry, and then it serves 2.

Fresh Corn & Tomato Soup, Now With a Kick!

I have been making Fresh Corn and Tomato Soup for YEARS. I mean, so many years that the recipe is actually on my old web site here. But I rarely look at the recipe anymore, and I've found that it has evolved significantly and can use a revisiting.

Yesterday morning I was at the Reston Farmer's Market and talking to The Jam Lady from Crackpot Gourmet. She has recently added a bunch of spice mixes to her inventory, so she is now the Jam and Spice Lady. Anyway, we were talking about cooking and what's in season, and I lamented that there is NO cilantro anywhere this year, because the weather is so hot and muggy that it's all wilting. I was specifically sad because this is one of the few weeks when there are tomatoes and corn and cilantro (usually) and they are all peaking at the same time and therefore make the BEST fresh corn and tomato soup EVER! 

Anyway, she agreed. And then she pointed out that she had a spice mix that used a lot of cilantro--her cilantro jalapeno salsa verde. We gave it a taste and decided that it would be the perfect replacement, to both give the soup a cilantro glow but also to give it a bit of a kick!

So here it is. The revised revised and revised again version of Fresh Corn & Tomato Soup, originally from Laurel's Kitchen but now a new and kicky thing! Of course, if you want to make this, try making your own spice mix with cilantro, jalapenos, lime juice, some garlic, salt, sugar, and oil to hold it all together. Or just do the original version, and chop cilantro to mix in at the very end!

Fresh Corn & Tomato Soup, Now with a Kick!

1 onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
3 cloves garlic, pressed
2 T Smart Balance
5 ears of corn
5-7 mixed heirloom tomatoes (think 6 medium and go from there)
1 box of vegetable broth
1/2 - 1 t salt

Cilantro-Jalapeno Salsa Verde (for mixing in at the end)

Saute onion, celery, and garlic in Smart Balance until tender. Strip the corn from the cobs, and chop tomatoes coarsely. Add corn, tomatoes, broth, and salt to the sauteed vegetables, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook covered for 1/2 hour. 

Ladle into bowls and top with a dollop of the salsa to be stirred in. Or, stir in cilantro leaves, and it's ready to serve.

Egg Pie

Not really a quiche, not really a frittata, this Egg Pie is something in between. Again, a CSA/Market recipe. 

The general consensus was OMGWTFOmnomnom. In those words exactly :)

Vegetable Egg Pie

1 summer squash (zucchini-like)

1 small onion

6 or so fingerling potatoes (I used the largest fingerlings I had)

4 eggs

splash of milk

handful of shredded parmasean cheese

2 T garlic curl pesto

Some Jane's Krazy Mixed-Up Salt 

As usual, you can replace the garlic curls with your seasoning paste/spice mix of choice. Also, Krazy Salt can be replaced with your favorite seasoned salt, of course.

Slice potatoes length-wise into very thin slices--about 4-6 per potato. Microwave on high for about 3 minutes. 

While they are microwaving and cooling, slice zucchini and onion into very thin slices and saute in cooking spray. 

Mix eggs, milk, garlic curl pesto, cheese, and Krazy Salt in a bowl and whisk well. 

Line a 9" (or whatever you have) greased (with cooking spray) pie plate with the potatoes, covering the bottom and coming up the sides as much as you can. Add the sauteed vegetables and spread evenly over the potatoes. Pour egg mixture over all and pat down any cheese that tries to stick up.

Bake at 375 degrees for about 1/2 hour or until the top begins to brown and the egg is completely set.

Slice and eat. Serves about 3 people (increase number of eggs and cooking time to feed more!)

To start off, here is a great article by Michael Pollan called "Out of the Kitchen, Onto the Couch" that is very very long but worth the read. I, too, remember when cooking shows were about teaching you how to cook. Pollan never writes anything short, but if you have an hour for reading a good article about cooking and eating and the evolution of the modern cooking show, take a look at it.

Meanwhile, summer chugs along and Fairytale Eggplant season has arrived. If you have never seen Fairytale eggplant, go do a google image search to see the wee cuteness of them! They are itty bitty and are striped white and purple and are delicious for eating. 

Our favorite way to make Fairytale Eggplant is sliced in half lengthwise and simply grilled with olive oil, a little salt and pepper, and some Italian seasoning. If you don't mind turning on the oven, you can also broil it this way and sprinkle with some parmasean cheese for a fabulous side dish. 

Fairytale Eggplant just says summer to me.

Even if you don't like eggplant, this is a completely different flavor. Grilling it gives these eggplant a creamy texture, and the skin is thin enough to eat and has no bitter taste like the skin of your everyday regular giant purple eggplant. I highly suggest you give it a try while they are in season!