Sweet Corn with Cumin, Curry Leaves, and Chilis

As you read yesterday - when I posted a lovely recipe for Chicken Curry - my friend Sid, who regularly sends me videos showing how to prepare delicious traditional Indian recipes, told me that I should look into a bloggers' link-up that involved cooking from the fabulous book 660 Curries.

Well, as someone who loves Indian food, you can imagine my glee in perusing the cookbook!!! I had to start cooking right away, after being led into temptation, so I made several recipes with ingredients I had on hand, tweaking ever so slightly to accommodate my pantry.

One dish that I made on a cold, dreary day and brought to work for lunch sounded so simple, so much like a throwaway; but the ingredients had been available, so it won the coin toss.

I was so surprised and delighted to find that this was a fabulous dish! Bright, spicy, addictive - I kept eating and eating, enjoying it so much!

Instead of using the red chilis called for in the recipe, I put a small piece of my lone ghost pepper into the mix. And just before serving, I mixed in some of the Indian snack mix I had recently bought, which contains all sorts of lovely crispy tidbits with a hint of sweetness. (If you don't have access to an Indian market, here's a recipe; just add a handful of golden raisins to approximate the mix I bought at the store.) It was one of the best lunches I'd brought to work in a long time!

You could serve this corn as a side dish with meat, over rice, with naan ... it's up to you. But serve it, even if it sounds a bit unusual. It really is fabulous!


Sweet Corn with Cumin, Curry Leaves, and Chilis

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 3 cups frozen corn
• 1 cup water
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 6 large curry leaves
• 1 small red pepper, finely chopped

Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the cumin seeds and turmeric; cook for 10 seconds. Add the corn, water, cilantro, and salt; bring to a boil over high heat, then lower heat to medium. Add curry leaves and pepper; cook for 8-10 minutes until most of the liquid has been absorbed. Remove the curry leaves and serve immediately.

4-6 as a side dish.

Herbed Redskin Potato Salad

It's the 4th of July, and many people are celebrating at barbecues or picnics.  And what better dish to offer at these events than a simple salad that goes with any- and everything?

This potato salad doesn't have mayonnaise; so not only does it keep well, without need of refrigeration, but it's also perfect for vegans who often have difficulties finding food they can eat at get-togethers.  Eggless mayonnaise is an off-tasting, poor substitute for the luscious "real thing."  So why bother approximating traditional creamy potato salad when you can make a version that is light and still delicious?

The beautiful red-pink potatoes I used for my salad were purchased at the Dixboro Farmers' Market, freshly dug just that morning.  This new venue is growing each week, with vendors offering everything from greens to baked goods of all varieties (traditional Southern treats, scones, pretzels, cupcakes, and even vegan goodies), honey, eggs, meats, and more.  You can even now buy a barbecue dinner prepared by serious enthusiasts who serve from a chuck wagon; they also prepare fruit cobbler in cast iron skillets.

Michelle Hartmann, one of the market's managers, says that the goal is to achieve a sense of community - picnic dinners, kids playing baseball, support for area farmers, a gathering place.  And ideally, a trip to the Dixboro Market could substitute for one to the grocery store, as a weekend's worth of prepared items, ingredients, and treats can be purchased locally from friends and neighbors.

Michelle and her managing partner, Jason Gold, are also looking for musical acts to perform family-friendly sets on Friday evenings at the market, to add to the festive atmosphere.  If you've got a recommendation, please send an email: info@DixboroFarmersMarket.org or hartmannwebmail@gmail.com.

Enjoy your holiday, as well as this potato salad!


Herbed Redskin Potato Salad

1 pound small (1"-2") redskin potatoes, halved or quartered
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/8 cup rice wine vinegar
juice of 1/4 lemon
1 teaspoon kosher salt
generous sprinkle of freshly ground black pepper
pinch of red pepper flakes
1/4 cup freshly minced mixed herbs - basil, parsley, tarragon, oregano

Fill a medium saucepan with salted water; bring to a boil, then add potatoes.  Boil for 10-12 minutes, until fork-tender; drain potatoes and place into a medium mixing bowl.

Combine oil, vinegar, lemon juice, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and herbs; pour over potatoes and stir to coat.  Serve warm, at room temperature, or chilled.

Serves 4-6 as a side dish.

Pomegranate-Glazed Sweet Potato Spears

Sweet potatoes aren't just for Thanksgiving.  One of the guests at the first Seder I attended at Passover brought a rich, sweet casserole featuring this gorgeous vegetable; and my very dear friend Candace, of Mi Chiamo Candace, recently posted about a flavorful spiced Roasted Sweet Potato Salad.  So with all this attention being paid to them, I've been craving sweet potatoes, which I adore.

This is a ridiculously simple preparation in which the sweetness of the main attraction contrasts with, and complements, the tartness of the pomegranate molasses.  And the house smells so, so good while this dish is baking.  These spears were fabulously delicious; I was sorely tempted to eat the entire batch instead of sharing!

This is an easy accompaniment to chicken, pork, burgers ... even turkey!

Pomegranate-Glazed Sweet Potato Spears

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled, cut lengthwise into 3/4"-wide strips
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/8 cup pomegranate molasses
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Preheat oven to 375F.  Line a baking sheet with foil.

In a large bowl, toss the sweet potatoes with the oil and the pomegranate molasses.  Place in a single layer onto the baking sheet and sprinkle with the salt.  Bake for 1 hour until the sweet potatoes are glazed, caramelized, and tender.

Serves 6 as a side dish.

Kale with Pistachios

Kale is one of the most nutritious vegetables; it offers beta carotene, vitamins K and C, lutein, and calcium, in addition to many anti-cancer properties.  It's also a gorgeous bright green, decorating the dinner plate and enhancing virtually any entree.

I was given an entire shopping bag full of kale recently, which was very generous.  But kale doesn't cook down and wilt the way spinach does, so this really was a lot of vegetable to deal with.  Fortunately, I like kale and I like to cook!  I started with a simple side dish, because it was easy to make after a long day at work.  But there are many, many ways to enjoy this amazing health booster!

My friend Diana Dyer, who grows many varieties of fabulous garlic and is my only source for garlic scapes, has a blog devoted entirely to kale and its wonders: 365 Days of Kale.  Diana is a registered dietician and cancer survivor who offers health information, wit, wisdom, humor and recipes on her blog.  I'm going to have to see what goodies she offers, so that I can plow through the abundance of beautiful kale currently taking up my kitchen counter!

In the recipe below, the kale is vivid and just slightly tender.  It doesn't need added salt, as the pistachios provide just enough while also adding a bit of texture and crunch.  This seems so simple, but it's really good!

Kale with Pistachios

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 large garlic clove, minced
3 cups chopped kale, stems removed
3 tablespoons chopped pistachios

Heat the oil over medium heat in a large skillet.  Add garlic and saute for 1 minute.  Add kale and saute for 2 minutes; cover and cook for 5 minutes until tender and bright green.

Sprinkle pistachios over the kale.

Serves 2-4 as a side dish.

Provencal Peppers

Not only are these peppers beautiful, but they're sweet and delicious too!  They are vivid both in color and in flavor.

A quick saute, a splash of good wine, a sprinkle of lovely French herbs, and you've got a gorgeous side dish to complement almost any meal.  They'd even be great served on their own, as a vegan/vegetarian dish over rice or pasta.

Take a virtual trip to the south of France with this fabulous, easy recipe!


Provencal Peppers

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 medium yellow pepper, sliced thin

1 medium orange pepper, sliced thin

pinch of kosher salt

1/2 cup dry white wine

3/4 teaspoon herbes de Provence (available at specialty markets; try to get one that's a bit heavier on the lavender)

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add peppers and salt; cook for 2-3 minutes, just to caramelize them a bit.  Turn heat to medium-low, add wine, and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until peppers are tender.  Turn heat back up to medium-high and cook peppers, stirring frequently, just until the rest of the liquid is absorbed.  Sprinkle with the herbes de Provence.

Serves 4-6 as a side dish.

Roasted Asparagus with Dijon Vinaigrette

I'm not dictatorial about it, but I do prefer to eat seasonally.  Strawberries are a Summer food, for example - whether bought at a roadside stand or, ideally, picked at a farm - and lesser flavorless specimens should simply not be schlepped thousands of miles from warmer climates so that people can consume them in Michigan in the middle of Winter.  I have spoken!

And asparagus is one of those foods that, to me, is simply integral to a particular season: Spring.  So, since Spring officially begins today, this simple but delicious dish seemed the perfect offering.

Many people aren't aware of this, but you can politely pick up asparagus with your fingers to eat it.  That would be a bit messy here, though; it would also prohibit sharing a bit of the vegetable with a taste of the egg that complements it so well.  So resort to your fork this time, but don't forget that asparagus is really finger food!

This vegetable dish would be lovely at either your Passover Seder or your Easter dinner - both holidays are fast approaching.  Roasting the asparagus intensifies its flavor, so it's delicious to serve to guests; and the egg, of course, is symbolic for both holidays.

But you should really just enjoy this simply because Winter is officially over!

Roasted Asparagus with Egg and Dijon Vinaigrette

1 bunch asparagus
2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon + generous sprinkling of kosher salt
2 hard-boiled eggs
3/4 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
generous sprinkling of black pepper

Preheat oven to 400F.

Place the asparagus onto a baking sheet; drizzle with the 2 tablespoons oil and the 1/2 teaspoon salt.  Roast for 20  minutes, until fork-tender.  Let cool to room temperature.

Peel the eggs.  Use an egg slicer to cut them first in one direction and then in the other, to make small shreds.  (If you don't have an egg slicer, just chop the eggs.)

Combine the 2 teaspoons oil, lemon juice, and mustard.

Place the asparagus onto a serving platter and sprinkle the egg over it; generously sprinkle salt and pepper over everything.  Drizzle with the vinaigrette and serve immediately.

Serves 4-6.