Salts Kitchen

Memorial Day was a whirl. I went into Friday evening thinking it would be a quiet weekend: I’d be productive, get stuff done around the house, clean, things of that nature. Thinking I’d be free as a bird, I decided to make a brunch on Sunday for some friends. And then, things started happening. Plans started coming to fruition. Instead of having a ton of prep time, I had little time, and very little time on the morning of not to mention something to do every hour. My friend, Thomas, stopped by my place to discuss the menu and with his help, a few ideas came about for a quick(ish), low-prep brunch:

Roasted Cherry Tomato, Basil, and Goat Tommé (a nice grate-able goat cheese) Frittata; Potato, Onion, and Sausage Breakfast Hash; Spring Succotash; Peach and Blueberry Crisp; Basil-Blackberry-Ginger Refresco, and friends provided everything for the Bloody Marys and accoutrements (nothing like a pickled pepper, green bean, and okra in the a.m.- yum!).

Here we have the Spring Succotash. I love this because everything can be bought at the farmers’ market (still, right now, go) or found in my garden. I make a variety of versions depending on my mood. What I love is that everything is very “clean”- I cook the ingredients separately, so they keep their flavors and colors distinct. Also, feel free to alternate the vegetables and if there’s one you like more than another, have at it. If morel mushrooms were readily available, you know those would be in there too!

Spring Succotash
1/4 cup olive oil
Equal parts (for this recipe I used approximately 2 cups of each):
Romano Beans, Green Beans, Corn, and Cherry Tomatoes
2 poblano peppers (or other not very spicy pepper), deseeded and chopped
1/4 cup torn basil
2-3 Tablespoons mint, chopped finely
optional: Radicchio (also equal portion)

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Boil the romano beans for about 2 minutes. Add the green beans and cook 1 more minute only. Strain both beans in a colander and rinse with cold water. While the beans are laying low, bring pot of water to boil again. Add corn on the cob. Boil just for 2 minutes, strain and rinse in cold water.

Heat 2 Tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet. When hot, add the peppers and cook until soft and slightly brown. Set aside. If using radicchio, repeat this process until wilted and slightly brown and set aside.

Cut the green beans and romano beans on a diagonal in 1-2 inch pieces. Place in a serving dish. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and add to the dish. Cut the corn off the cob and add that to the dish too. Add the peppers. Drizzle 3-4 Tablespoons of olive oil over all the cut veggies and a hefty sprinkle of good salt. Toss with your hands very gently and only as much as necessary to incorporate the ingredients.

Place radicchio on top then sprinkle herbs all over the dish and another pinch of good salt and a bit of pepper. Serve room temperature.

Floating around in Barton Springs, my friend Tim and I discussed dinner. Discussed going out, going to get wine, going to something or other, then we started daydreaming about what we’d ideally eat at that very moment. Somehow we turned the discussion to dinner at my place, and it went from 3 of us to 8 of us. I made a one-pot meal and we were good to go on a hot and sweaty Saturday night.

This is a very simple way to make mussels, takes very few ingredients, and is quite a cost effective way to feed a group sitting around a coffee table. Please note, the tomatoes are very fresh in this, it is not a cooked tomato sauce. It makes for a light and summery meal.

Mussels with Sausage and Tomatoes
1/2 pound ground chicken sausage
2 Tablespoons olive oil (more if needed)
5 Tablespoons garlic, sliced and chopped
3 large shallots (makes between 1/2-3/4 cup), thinly sliced
6 cups tomatoes, diced
pinch of chili flakes
3 cups dry white wine
4 pounds mussels
1/2 cup basil
pinch of salt

In a large soup pot, brown the sausage and cook just through. I got this from Richardson’s (it was the other half of the pound I used in the mushroom cups) so it was very lean. If the sausage is fatty, you won’t need to add any olive oil.

Over medium heat, add the garlic and shallots and simmer 4-5 minutes, do not let brown. Add the tomatoes and chili flakes and saute just for another 2-3 minutes.

Add the wine, bring to a low boil and then add the mussels. This is a large amount of mussels! Cover the pot and steam until the mussels have all opened: about 8-12 minutes. If any of the mussels don’t open, toss those out.

Tear the basil and throw on top. Add a pinch of salt if desired and serve.

Last month it was my turn to host book-club and we read a book about women in Shanghai. Quite the discussion ensued. Always fascinating. Always fun. The choice for food this month was obvious: Chinese of course. I had big plans for the menu, but somehow I agreed to host at 5:30, hadn’t finished the book yet, and didn’t get out of the office until after 4:00. Oops. I made a few things, but the most successful and beautiful was by far the mushroom and sausage minced in radicchio cups. I had shopped for most ingredients at the Farmers’ Market at the Triangle the night before and found most of what I wanted. I had no idea that Richardson’s (my favorite pork people) have been selling chicken sausage?! Menu changer.

This was a fairly simple, very delicious, very easily vegetarian, and quickly prepared side or appetizer. It also saved well for my lunch the following day. The dressing is an adaptation of the Five-Herb Vinaigrette from Ming Tsai’s Simply Ming. It was a delight. The dressing makes about 3 cups and I only used about 1 cup for this recipe. I now have a beautiful jar of Four-Herb (that’s part of the adaptation) Vinaigrette in my fridge for use on any and everything (can you say fresh corn and green bean season?!).

Four-Herb Vinaigrette
1/4 cup dijon mustard
1/4 minced shallots
3/4 cup white rice vinegar
2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 Tablespoons mirin
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 Tablespoon sugar
2 Tablespoons dried mint
2 Tablespoons dried cilantro
2 Tablespoons dried basil
2 Tablespoons dried tarragon
3/4 cup grapeseed oil
1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil

Combine all ingredients, except the oils, in a bowl. Slowly whisk in the oil. Stir or shake it up before you use every time.

Mushroom and Sausage Cups
1 head radicchio
1/2 pound chicken sausage, ground without casings
1 Tablespoon olive oil
4-5 garlic cloves, sliced thinly
1 1/2 pounds mixed mushrooms (I used what I had: button, shitake, portabello…), diced
extra soy sauce, optional
sprouts or microgreens, optional

Wash and dry the radicchio and place each leaf as a cup on a serving plate. Heat the wok (or a heavy-duty skillet will do). Add the chicken and cook over medium heat, and break it up with a wooden spoon. Add 2 Tablespoons of the vinaigrette as you cook, let it get absorbed. When sausage is done, set aside.

Heat the olive oil in the wok and add the garlic. Saute just for a minute or 2. Add the mushrooms and saute for about 2 minutes. Add the sausage back in and 1/4 cup of the dressing. Stir over medium heat for another 1 minute. Remove from the heat. Add another splash of soy sauce if needed.

While the mixture is still hot/warm, spoon into the radicchio cups. Since radicchio is pretty bitter, I like a lot of the mixture to balance it out. Drizzle a teaspoon or 2 of the dressing generously over the cups. Sprinkle chopped microgreens on top too.

I kept the dressing on the table for people to dip in if they so desired.

Dearest Readers (reader? Just Dad?),

I have about 30 recipes as drafts waiting to be tweaked and edited and posted, but in the meantime, I’ve been touched by the community that the gluten free life has brought to me and I wanted to share a little of that.

First, I finally wrote a comment on one of my favorite reference blogs, Elana’s Pantry. I’ve pasted it below. Also, I wanted to share that I have my very first publication in Edible Austin’s 5th Anniversary Issue. Okay, fine, it’s about volunteers at SFC, but Marla, the editor, let me know she’d love for me to submit more of my own pieces. Yes please and thank you!

Here’s my comment to Elana, and I hope that she thinks like I do- that each individual voice really does make a difference:

Dear Elana,
I have been reading your blog for the 3 years since I stopped eating gluten. You have served as a wonderful basis for me to re-learn how to bake since my diagnosis. I often think about commenting, but I get side-tracked, busy, you know the drill.
Although this letter you posted is from 3 years ago, I just read it and felt compelled to actually sit and write thank you. CoconutGal’s story made me well up (and I don’t cry easily), the same way that I get teary-eyed when I think of my 30 years feeling like my pains were in my head, the same way I get teary-eyed when I walk into a cidery, a gluten free bakery , or taste an amazing brownie that doesn’t attempt to kill me- the smiles I give and get remind me: it’s about the community.
As CoconutGal said to you, it feels lonely and awful. And for the last 3 years, I look at your site not only for the recipes, but to remind me I’m not alone and this is so much easier with this support group behind us.
I know you receive comments and letters like this everyday, but I wanted you to know how important this has been for me.
In great appreciation,
Rebecca

That’s it for today. More recipes to come…

I needed a little sweet snack the other day and decided to experiment with the ol’ peanut butter cookie. I used my favorite Peanut Butter Cookie recipe and altered a few things according to my mood. The almond butter brought a nice crunch and these weren’t too sweet. I brought them to a girls-getting-dressed-pre-wedding gathering and I feel rather honored that (along with tempura lobster tails and champagne), the cookies were devoured.

Almond Butter Cookies (makes about 25-28 cookies)
1 cup almond butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon Baking powder

Preheat the oven to 325. Prepare one baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Beat all the ingredients in a large bowl, ever so quickly. Take about 1 teaspoon full at a time, roll into a ball, and place on cookie sheet 2-3 inches apart. I did 3 things then: smush an almond into the center with your thumb; squish a pecan in with your thumb (this was my favorite!); or just flat it out with your thumb. Bake for 10 minutes.