Watermelon Pickles

This is fair week in both Sedalia, Missouri and Springfield, Illinois. Here in the agricultural states, fairs are a very big deal. So much excellence and personal pride on display. Barns and barns full of the showiest livestock and most beautiful produce. Missouri has a big wine competition, and of course there are competitons for baked goods, preserves, and many culinary acheivements. Since I couldn't make it to the fair this year, I thought I'd still enjoy the spirit of the events by putting up some watermelon rind pickles of my own.

I took a recipe from "State Fair Recipes" a compilation of blue ribbon winning recipes put together by Catherine Hanley. I used a recipe from Elaine Pretz from Portland Oregon. The pickles won a blue ribbon at the Oregon state fair, I don't know the year, but the book was published in 1993.

1 watermelon rind
1 cup pickling salt
2 quarts cold water
1 tablespoon whole cloves
1 tablespoon allspice
5 pieces cinnamon stick
6 cups sugar
4 cups white vinegar
2 cups water
1 orange thinly sliced
extra cinnamon sticks to place inside the jars for garnish, optional

Trim all dark green and pink from the rind.

Cut the rind into 1 1/2" pieces.

Place 4 quarts of rind in a crock and brine it with the salt disolved in the cold water overnight in the refrigerator.

Drain the rind and rinse well.

Put the rind in a kettle and cover with cold water, bring the pot to the boil and simmer the rind for 8 minutes, drain.

Wash the kettle and add the sugar, water, and vinegar. Make a cheesecloth sachet for the allspice, cloves, and cinnamon and add it to the syrup.

Boil the syrup for about 5 minutes until it begins to thicken, add the rind and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes until the melon turns opaque, turn off the heat and let the melon cool in the syrup for 1/2 hour.

Meanwhile sterilize the jars and lids, bring the melon back to the boil and pack carefully into pint jars, ladle in extra boiling syrup to cover melon, leaving 1/4" head space at the top. Add a cinnamon stick to the jar if you like.

Place the lids on the jars and secure with rings, process the jars in a boiling water bath for 25 minutes.


Pickles need to rest for about 6 weeks before opening to achieve the best flavor.

Paula Wolfert's 7 Day Preserved Lemons

I met Paula Wolfert several years ago when she was on a book tour promoting her book "The Cooking of the Eastern Mediterranean". It was a a cocktail reception for her, I can't remember who gave it, but the restaurant was beautiful-the food not so much. I'm such a big fan of hers, that I'm afraid I monopolised her much of the evening. Her recipes are always reliable as well as thoroughly researched-they are usually a sociology lesson as well.

Preserved lemons are a Moroccan ingredient used in many tajines, stews, and couscous dishes. But they are so versatile and are beautiful with anything fish, chicken or veal. Once made they last in the refrigerator for months. So I'll make this batch and they will be used up this winter in several recipes to come. I doubled the recipe to make a quart.

4 lemons, washed and quartered
2/3 cup kosher salt
Fresh lemon juice
Olive oil

Toss the lemon quarters with the salt and pack into a glass jar.

Muddle the lemons and salt with a wooden spoon.

Pour in enough fresh lemon juice to cover the lemons.

Let the lemons sit at room temperature for 7 days, shaking the jar each day to redistribute the juice and salt.

Add olive oil to top and refrigerate for up to 6 months.

Fresh Blueberry Daiquiri

1 cup fresh blueberries

juice of 1/2 lime

1 cup ice

1/2 cup silver rum

2 tablespoons powdered sugar

Whip in the blender and pour into your favorite glass, garnish with a lime twist.

Perfect for Summer Sunday afternoons.

Griddled Sweet Potato Polenta With Apple-smoked Bacon Greens

We're big fans of greens around here. They are abundant at the farmer's markets right now. Of course, cornbread is what most people serve with their greens, but I thought some polenta would work well and I wouldn't have to heat the oven for corn bread.

1 sweet potato, roasted al dente, cooled, peeled, and cut into 1" pieces

1 medium onion, caramelised in 1 tablespoon olive oil with a pinch of sugar

1 clove of garlic, minced

4 cups chicken stock

1 cup yellow corn meal

In a sauce pan, sweat the carlic in oil over low heat for 1 or 2 minutes, add the stock and bring it to the boil.

Whisk in the corn meal, whisking constantly to prevent lumps and bring it back to the boil.

Lower the heat and cook the polenta for 25 minutes to 1/2 hour, stirring often.

Fold in the onions and sweet potato, and pour into a 9" cake pan lined with parchment paper let chill and set up.

Unmold the polenta and cut it into wedges and griddle or grill them until they are browned and crispy.

For the greens:
1 bunch each of collards, turnip, and mustard greens, washed thoroughly. Cut out eh ribs and slice the greens.
2 rashers of apple smoked bacon cut in to 1" pieces and crisped in a skillet large enough to hole the greens.
1/2 cup onion slices, browned in the bacon drippings.

Add the greens to the bacon drippings and bacon, toss until the green begin to wilt, add 1 cup of chicken stock, season with salt, pepper and sugar to taste-greens can be bitter and a little sugar tames them. Simmer until the greens are tender, adding more stock if necessary-about 1/2 hour is all that is needed at this point.

Rainbow Orzo and Corn Salad with Fresh Basil

St Louis is sweltering this week. It has cooled slightly, but really hot again today. We've been lucky enough to have been invited to a barbeque pool party ths afternoon. I'll be taking this light salad.

1/2 pound rainbow orzo, cooked al dente

Corn from two cooked ears of corn, scraped

1/4 minced onion

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

2 Tablespoons water

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup fresh basil, chiffonade

Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all of the ingredients and let marinate a couple of hours or overnight.

Basil and fresh corn are so right for one another-they are definitely the Brangelina of summer foods. Chiffonade is a simple technique for slicing delicate herbs and lettuces. Simply stack the leaves on top of one another and roll them up jelly roll style, then slice into thin strips. If you try to mince basil or hit the herb too hard with the knife it turns black, this technique cuts it up and preserves the color-some people use scissors.

Poblano Peppers

I picked up these beautiful Poblanos at farmer's market last week. I roasted these peppers, and gently made a slit in the side and carefully removed the core and seeds. I stuffed them with a mixture of black beans, rice, and corn, topped with some queso fresco. In cooler weather I would probably bake them in a chili sauce, but I just served them at room temperature and they were just perfect-spicy and sweet-very summery.

1 1/2 cups cooked rice

1 cup cooked black beans

corn, scraped from 2 ears of corn

1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin

1/4 cup diced onion, sauteed

1 clove garlic, minced and sauteed

Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all of he ingredients.

Gently stuff the roasted peppers with the mixture and top with some crumbled queso fresco.

Saurkraut Potato Salad

1 quart of saurkraut, drained and rinsed

1 pound small red potatoes, cooked until tender and quartered

1 cup diced onion

1 cup diced red pepper

1 cup green beans, blanced and cut into 1" pieces

1 cut blanched carrots, cut into 1" pieces

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup cider vinega1/3 cup water

1 tablespoon mustard seed

salt and pepper to taste

1/3 cup olive or vegetable oil

Combine all of the ingredients and refrigerate a couple of hours-best overnight. If the salad is too soupy, drain off the marinade before serving, but the potatoes usually absorb alot of it.

Pork Belly

This is extremely rich and probably better suited for a Fall or Winter meal, but I had this pork belly, and I had to use it. Actually I only used a third of it and froze the rest for later.

2 1/2 pound piece of pork belly, rind removed

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 tablespoon fennel seeds

2 carrots, chopped

1 small onion, sliced

2 stalks of celery, sliced

2 garlic cloves, sliced

6 bay leafs

fresh thyme sprigs

1/4 cup sherry

I seasoned the pork with salt , pepper, fennel seed, bay leaf, and thyme. I smothered the belly with garlic, celery, onion, and carrots, doused everything with sherry and tightly double wrapped everything in foil. Roast the package at 200 degrees for 5 hours. Turn off the oven and let the belly cool in the oven for 2 hours.

Cut the belly into serving portions and crisp the fat side in a hot non-stick skillet until it is browned and crusty. I was going to discard the vegetables, but they were still in such good condition that I just served them under the belly. Some recipes call for making a sauce with the vegetbles and drippings, but there was just too much rendered fat for me to deal with.

This is almost flavor overload, so tender and succulent.

My "New" Copper Pans

Well, at least new to me. We left early Saturday morning to look for some Holly trees, and on the way to the nursery we came upon an estate sale. It was still early and a couple of hours before I had to leave for work, so we went in. On the outside it was a neat and tidy brick bungalow located in the neighborhood known as Holly Hills, close to Carondelet Park. Inside it was crammed full of stuff. Curios, and curio cabinets, furniture, collectibles, and clothes. It was obviously someone's lifetime accumulation. It looks to have been a happy life, although everything was quite dirty and grimy. There was alot of religious iconography, several fur coats-each stylish in their era, fancy gowns, men's suits as well. Since it was the last day of the sale everything was half off.

In the corner of a very greasy, dirty kitchen was a sad little pan rack with several pans hanging on it-and a sign which read, set $35.00-there were 7 pans and 5 lids. Some of the pans were so covered in grime that you could barely recognize them as copper.

Several pans had their original price tags still attached and labels and care instructions still on the inside. I don't think they were ever used. After at least 5 hours of elbow grease and a couple tubs of Twinkle Copper Cream, the pans look beautiful. The half off sale price came to $17.50 or less than $3.00 per pan.

Note to Mom:Remember the time in South Padre and Mexico we went to all those flea markets looking for copper pans-well I finally found them.

Mess of Tomatoes with Red French Vinaigrette

Growing up, my mom always had a jar of homemade salad dressing in the refrigerator-we also had all the bottled varieties, but my dad's favorite was mom's. We didn't call it Red French we just called it the homemade one, but I guess Red French would be a better description. I like it because it's not thick and heavy like some versions, it is more of a vinaigrette. It separates and must be shaken before using. For this tomato salad, I added some feta cheese, but blue cheese is also an excellent addition and a welcome change from all those creamy white blue cheese dressings. This isn't her exact recipe, but pretty close with a couple of additions.

We had an abundance of different kinds of tomatoes this week-Roma, beefsteak, heirloom, grape, yellow, etc.-so I just cleaned them and cut them up and tossed them all together with some feta, basil, and some home grown red onion from the Zakibe tribe and dressed it with Red French Vinaigrette.

Red French Vinaigrette

1/2 cup ketchup

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

1 tablespoon minced shallot

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 tablespoon sugar

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 tablespoonsWorcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Salt and pepper to taste

1 cup olive oil (my mom probably used a vegetable oil)

Combine all ingredients in a jar and shake vigorously, let the vinaigrette sit a couple of hours in the refrigerator, remove the garlic clove before serving.

Savory Ham and Guyere Bread


I read this in the New York Times Dining section last Wednesday. The article hyped it so much, I couldn't wait to try it. It was disappointing-maybe the article led me to expect too much or maybe I didn't have a glass of wine or cocktail in hand while I was sampling the bread. The article alluded that the French used this bread as an excuse to open a bottle of wine. It is sort of the poor cousin of Gougere. The recipe uses a quick bread or muffin type recipe, without the sugar, and replaces the sweet with a rich savory quality. It is called a cake because it is baked in a loaf pan or muffin tins.


I added olives to the recipe, and the olives were the best part of the bread, it just seemed so bland. No one hated it, but no one really liked it either, One of the cooks said it was good when he dipped it into his cup of spicy gumbo, another said it would be good with grape jelly-We had a chuckle at that laugh line-then I had him clean the fryers. Read the original article here.


1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoonsbaking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3 large eggs
1/3 cup milk
1/3 cup olive oil
6 ounces ham, diced into 1/4 inch dice-about 1 1/2 cups
6 ounces Guyere, 1/2 coarsely grated, 1/2 diced into 1/4 inch pieces
1/2 cup roughly chopped olives


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray your loaf pan with a release spray

Whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, salt, and pepper.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the eggs with the mile and olive oil.

Fold the wet ingredients into the dry, do not over mix. Fold in the ham, cheese, and olives.

Scrape the batter into the loaf pans and spread evenly.

Bake until golden and a pick coomes out clean, about 40 minutes.

Cool the loaf slightly, and unmold onto a wire rack-wait an additional 1/2 hour before slicing or the bread may crumble.


Afterthoughts:It might have been helped with a topping or spread like a chutney, tomato relish, or something mustardy.

Collossally Fail Okra

Not everything turns out the way you plan. I bought this okra at farmer's market last week, and I knew even when I was buying them they were too big-but they just looked so beautiful. I stewed the life right out of these pods and was still left with a fibrous inedible mess-truly like chewing on a log. Which is too bad, because the sauce was a delicious sweet and sour curry. I'll try it again and I will never buy such large okra again.

Greek Ribs

These ribs are just so appealing, they are slightly tart from the lemon and red wine vinegar, savory from the oregano, slightly spicy from the pepppers, enticing with just a little smoke. And the texture combines succulent and juicy meat with a crispy fire licked crust.

2 Slabs of St Louis style baby back ribs

Marinade:

1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 Tablespoons of red wine vinegar

1 cup minced onion

2 to 3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 thirty-two ounce jar of Greek pepperoncini, including brine

1/2 cup fresh oregano, chopped

Salt to you taste and freshly ground black pepper

Prep your ribs by removing the silver skin along the backside of the ribs. Cut the ribs into 3 to 4 rib sections, and blanch in boiling water for five minutes.

Submerge the ribs in the marinade and let them marinate for at least 1 hour or overnight in the refrigerator.

Bring the ribs to room temperature and roast them in the marinade at 300 degrees for a little over an hour, basting them every 15 minutes.

Drain the ribs and reserve the cooked marinade to use as a dipping sauce for the ribs.

Prepare a hot charcoal fire, and sear the cooked ribs until they are charred and crispy

To serve, spoon a bit of the cooked marinade with the pepperoncini over the top of the ribs and serve the remaining cooked marinade in a bowl to the side.

Hegwood Family Reunion Potato Salad

I'm not going to the reunion, but this salad and especially this yellow Pyrex bowl reminds me of the many times I went to the reunion. This was my grandma Hegwood's bowl, and she loaded it with potato salads like this one many times. This salad is going to a Fourth of July Barbeque, and for once I'm not doing the barbequeing-which is quite all right with me-I enjoy other people's barbeque.

There really is no recipe for this salad, just boiled and diced red potatoes, hard-cooked and diced eggs, celery, onion, and pickles. Mix with mayonaise flavored with bright yellow hot dog mustard (French's). I sprinkled parsley on top, but grandma would have probably put egg slices on top with some paprika.

Arabian Okra-Bamia

I've become a big fan of Middle Eastern cooking these days. The flavors of olive oil, garlic, lemon, cumin, coriander, and fresh mint can just be magical. The origins of this dish came from Claudia Roden's "A Book of Middle Eastern Food" originally published in 1968-my copy still has its original $3.95 price sticker still attached. I bought my copy used much later, in 1968 I was still in high school struggling with chemistry and Latin way before I decided I'd really just rather cook.

At Farmer's market this one farmer had his okra sitting right next to his beautiful yellow wax beans, so I bought some of each. Claudia's recipe contains just okra, onion, and tomatoes-I just decided to add the wax beans. I believe this would qualify as a "mezze" in Arabic or the equivalent of "tapas" or what has just become "small plates" on alot of American menus.

1 pound fresh okra

1 pound fresh yellow wax beans

1 medium white onion, sliced

3 cloves of garlic, sliced

2 large tomatoes, skinned and rough chopped

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

Juice of two lemons

Salt and pepper to your liking

Chopped fresh mint, parsley, and cilantro (about 1/4 cup total)

Blanch the okra and beans separately in boiling salted water until they are just done and still crisp-tender.

In a saute pan large enough to hold all of the ingredients, heat the oil and add the coriander, garlic, and onions; let these flavorings sizzle a minute or two-do not let them brown.

Add the drained vegetables and the tomatoes, simmer over very low heat for 10 minutes.

Off the heat, add the lemon juice and taste for salt and pepper. Fold in most of the fresh herbs, reserving some to garnish the top of the salad.

Best served at room temperature. Really good made one day ahead and refrigerated-just make sure it comes to room temperature before you serve it.

Ma Kettle Meets Julia Child

The humble pork steak makes another appearance in my kitchen and proves you really can make a silk purse from the sow's ear, or at least her shoulder. The mushrooms are not eco friendly at all, they were brought in from Oregon, but I couldn't resist them. So the pork steak is the humble, mongrelish Ma Kettle in this narrative, while the morel mushroom is the pedigreed sophisticated Julia Child. While they may seem like an inconguous couple, they actually make quite a tasty dish.

For the steaks:

4 pork steaks (about 12 to 14 ounces each)

1 cup chicken stock

1/2 cup onion slices

2 cloves of garlic, sliced

Salt and pepper to taste

Brine the steaks for at least two hours before starting

Grill the steaks over hot coals to sear on both sides, place the steaks in a grill proof pan and cover with the stock, onion, garlic, salt and pepper. Cover with aluminum foil and put to the back of the grill, and let simmer for 1 hour or until the meat is very tender. Replenish the fire if necessary.

For the sauce:

2 Tablespoons butter

4 ounces fresh Morel Mushrooms, cleaned and quartered

2 Tablespoons minced shallot

1/4 cup julienned ham

1/4 cup dry sherry

1/2 cup heavy cream

Saute the mushrooms, shallot, and ham in the butter.

Deglaze the pan with the sherry, strain the stock that the steaks cooked in and add it to the mushrooms.

Reduce the mixture by 1/3 and add the cream, reduce slightly until the sauce thickens, taste for seasoning and pour the sauce over the pork steaks.

Weekend in The Country

Last weekend was Father's day, it was also my parents 58 th wedding anniversary and my mother's birthday, so I made a trip back home to see them all and celebrate. Eventhough I haven't lived there for going on 40 years now, I still consider it home. These pictures were all taken in and around Princeville and Camp Grove IL about 30 miles North of Peoria. They were taken at my sisters, my nephew's and at my uncles Bill's garden. My uncle Bill is an organic, seed saving gardner-his garden is just huge and also lush. The corn and tomatoes aren't ready yet, but we had new potatoes-red and white-green beans, beets, and onions.

We had a couple of barbeques and even a few nips of moonshine, brought back from someone's recent trip down South. Life in the country can be idyllic, but I don't think I could give up my city ways.

Corn Tortillas

Let me get this out-I am not a good tortilla maker-I just don't have a natural way with pastry, I don't know why because both my grandmothers made exceptional pie crusts, but not me. That doesn't stop me from doing it anyway. These tortillas are so simple and taste so complex and rich it is hard to believe that masa and water are the only ingredients involved. I don't have a tortilla press, I just roll the dough out between sheets of plastic wrap with a rolling pin, so they are a bit on the ugly side, so while they won't win the beauty crown they will win the personality contest with their charm and flavor.

2 cups Masa Harina
1 1/3 cups warm water

Measure the masa into a mixing bowl, slowly stir in the water-here is the catch, like most pastry the masa will absorb different amounts of water on different days depending on things like humidity-so it is the art to add just the right amount of water.

Work the dough with your hands it should be dense and moist, but not sticky or wet. You can add additional water or masa to get the right feel. One positive thing about working with masa is that you can't over work it like you can flour pastries.

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it rest for 1/2 hour at room temperature

Get you cast iron skillet or griddle medium hot

Pinch off a golf-ball sized piece of dough and roll between your palms

Place the ball between two sheets of plastic wrap and roll out into a 6 to 8 inch circle

Place the tortill on the hot dry griddle-there should be a subtle sizzling

After 1 minute flip the tortill, it will probably puff up

After 30 seconds flip again for 30 more seconds remove the tortilla and keep warm until you serve them

Berenjenas en Escabeche

I started out making this dish before I could even name it. I bought this eggplant at Farmer's Market and planned to make this chinese garlic and ginger dish I love, but I couldn't resist the Rick Bayless recipe from my previous post, and I didn't think I wanted to mix Asian and Mexican, so I thought I would just take the Asian flavors (ginger, garlic, Mirin, sesame etc.) out and replace them with Mexican flavors of garlic, onion, Jalapeno, oregano, cumin, and Cilantro.

It appears that this is a common everyday dish in Argentina, as a condiment to all that grilled meat or as a sandwich topping. The eggplant was a superb compliment to the pork steaks. Eggplant is such a happy little camper and plays well with so many cuisines and flavors. The additions of mango juice and the mango salsa garnish isn't traditional but it was quite beautiful and the flavors all worked so well together.

1 eggplant, thickly sliced, liberally salted and let to drain for 1/2 hour

1 small onion minced

1 clove of garlic, minced

1 small Jalapeno pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground Cumin

1/4 cup Mango juice

1/2 cup rice wine vinegar

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup olive oil

Chopped fresh Oregano and Cilantro

Rinse the salt off the eggplant and dry the slices

In a saute pan over medium high heat brown the slices in a little olive oil drain on paper towels

In the sam pan, add the onion, garlic, Jalapeno, and Cumin

Stir cook the flavoring over heat until they are softened, add the mango juice and vinegar

Reduce the liquid slightly-2 to 3 minutes-cool slightly and stir in the olive oil

Layer the eggplant slices attractively in a serving platter and pour the vinegar mixture over them

Salt and pepper to taste and sprinkle the chopped fresh herbs over the top

Optional Garnish:Fresh Mango Salsa

Puerco en Adobo

Pork with rich red-chili sauce, based on a recipe from Rick Bayless's "Authentic Mexican" book. Pork steaks are a St Louis regional dish you don't see often in other parts of the country. They are a slice from the shoulder. They have a bone and a cross section slice of several different muscles of varying degrees of tendernesss all held together by connective tissue. Here in St louis they are usually grilled and slathered in a sweet Kansas City style barbeque sauce. After reading one of Bayless's recipes I decided it would be perfect for pork steaks, he uses boneless pork loin.

4 pork steaks (10 to 12 ounces each)

8 dried chiles ancho, stemmed, seeded and deveined

3 Tablespoons vegetable oil

1/2 cup diced onion

3 cloves of garlic, peeled

1 1/2 cup chicken stock

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1 bay leaf

1 Tablespoon chopped fresh oregano

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leves

6 Tablespoons cider vinegar

1 cup mango juice (Bayless uses orange juice)

1 Tablespoon Splenda (or sugar)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

In a saute pan, toast the chiles in hot oil, drain them and cover with boiling water, let the chiles soak for several hours or overnight. Keep them submerged by weighing them down with a small plate.

In the same saute pan, saute the onion and garlic until caramelised and browned, strain the onions and garlic, letting the oil drain back into the saute pan.

Drain the chiles and squeeze dry. Place the chiles, garlic, onions, cumin, bay, oregano, and thyme in a food processor and puree, adding 1/2 cup broth and 2 tablespoons of the vinegar. Strain the puree through a medium mesh sieve.

In the saute pan with the reserved oil, saute the puree for several minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in the juice and remaining broth and let simmer for about 45 minutes, partially covered. Stir and check the sauce often to make sure it is not sticking to the pan bottom. Season with the salt, sugar, and pepper.

Cool the sauce and take 1/4 cup of sauce and add the remaining 4 tablespoons of vinegar, marinate the pork steaks in this mixture for several hours. Refrigerate the remaining sauce until you are ready to grill the steaks.

Prepare the grill to medium hot-I always grill over charcoal-bring the pork and sauce to room temperature. Sear the steaks on both sides and grill several minutes. Place the steaks in a disposable foil pan, cover with the sauce and cover with foil, place at the back of the grill and simmer them gently over a low fire for an hour, replenishing the charcoal as necessary.