Author Archives: wadennis42

Sauce from Freshly Picked Tomatoes

This was my second time making homemade tomato sauce from tomatoes from my garden this summer. The first time, I started with 2 pounds of tomatoes and that just did not make enough sauce for my druthers. This time, I started with over 4 pounds of assorted types of tomatoes, including 3 plum tomatoes from the plants in the whiskey barrel in my back yard.

plum tomatoes in my back yard

I cut a small X at the bottom of each tomato, put them in almost boiling water for a minute or so, cooled in ice water, and slipped the skins off. I then cut the tomatoes in half, cored them, and squeezed most of the seeds and excess liquid out. Here are the results:

Just under 2.5 pounds of crushed tomatoes from a bit over 4 pounds of whole tomatoes

Just under 2.5 pounds of squeezed tomatoes from a bit over 4 pounds of whole tomatoes

Next, I added about 2 T of extra virgin olive oil and 3 cloves of garlic, chopped, to my 10 inch saute pan, put the heat on med-high, and got things sizzling just a bit, turned down the heat and sauteed until the garlic was aromatic. Then – the fun part: mushing/crushing up the tomatoes with my hands before adding them to the pan. Yes, is IS okay to play with your food!

I also added a teaspoon each of salt and sugar at this, followed by a chopped green chili pepper and a Tbsp of fresh thymes leaves from our attic balcony garden:

peppers and thyme in the sky. For Wakefield MA folks, that is the Galvin School parking lot in the background.

I also added a Tbsp of chopped fresh basil leaves at this time. After simmering for 5 or 10 minutes, I used a slotted spoon to remove the pulp so the liquid could cook down and thicken.

pulp and liquid separated

Here is the liquid after simmering uncovered for 20 minutes:

thickened sauce makes a great base for the sauce

thickened liquid makes a great base for the sauce

At this time, I added back the pulp, and added a teaspoon of fairly finely chopped fresh mint leaves, also from my attic garden. Here are two pictures showing how many mint leaves make a teaspoon of chopped mint. That is chocolate mint, by the way. My favorite!

mint leaves with tablespoon for size perspective

a teaspoon of chopped mint

I let the sauce simmer a bit more and, voila! Amazing sauce – nice and thick.

Thick and chunky sauce

Two cups sauce, to be exact

This came out REALLY good! YUM!

Here is the list of ingredients I used this time around:

Fresh tomatoes, assorted varieties, just under 4 1/2 pounds
2 Tbsp olive oil, extra virgin
3 good-sized cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
one green chili pepper, de-seeded and chopped
1 Tbsp chopped fresh basil
1 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves
1 tsp chopped fresh mint leaves

Did I miss anything? <grin> Of course, I will probably vary the recipe ingredients and minutes of simmering each time I make sauce. But, this should do as a good guide.

I’d like to extend a special thanks to food blogger extraordinaire Chez Pim. I found her post 15-Minute Tomato Sauce. Really. when searching for tips on making sauce from fresh tomatoes. While my version takes more than 15 minutes, I got the idea of separating out the pulp and thickening the liquid by itself from her. Based on my previous sauce making, I can say that the separation method is worthwhile, whether you are in a hurry to make the sauce or not!

Quick and Easy Pesto Pasta Salad

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I can’t do my usual Saturday morning Famer’s Market “shop and socialize” thing this morning because I have a Board Retreat to attend. Luckily, it is minutes from the market, so I am hoping to leave early, toting my potluck lunch item (you guessed, it, Pesto Pasta Salad) and grab at least some corn and potatoes before going to the meeting.

So, until I find time to post about the meal I made and documented last night, (using leftover grilled London Broil for pepper, onion, and cheese steak subs) this will be my weekend cooking post.

Bow Ties with Pesto, Feta and Cherry Tomatoes

Recipe courtesy Dave Lieberman via FoodNetwork.com with some of my notes added

* 1 pound bow tie pasta (farfalle) (I used a 14.5 ox of Barilla Plus)
* 3/4 cup Pesto (see my pesto post)
* 1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
* 1 cup crumbled feta cheese
* Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
* Olive oil, as needed

Directions

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Stir in the bow ties and cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente, about 10 minutes. Drain the pasta and run it under cold water just until it stops steaming. Bounce the pasta around to get rid of as much water as you can.

Dump the pasta into a large serving bowl. Stir in the pesto until the pasta is coated. Toss in the cherry tomatoes and the crumbled feta. Taste the salad and season it as you like with salt and pepper. You can make the salad up to about 1 hour before you serve it. Check out the salt and pepper just before you serve the salad. If it’s looking a little dry, add some olive oil and stir it around.

And, voila!

Pesto Pasta Salad with Tomatoes and Feta

I have not actually tried it yet and, since the recipe says to serve within an hour of serving, I am not sure how it will be after being chilled during the morning part of our meeting. Well, only one way to find out. I’ll update this post about it later.

pesto, pesto, pesto…. :) and food art featuring fresh-picked garlic

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I am blessed to have a space in a “borrowed/cooperative” garden in which I have enough basil plants that I can pick enough basil at one time to equal 3 packed cups. Time for pesto, of course!

An added bonus was freshly picked garlic from Farmer Dave of Dracut Mass who is at the Wakefield Farmer’s Market each Saturday. I had some walnuts in my freezer (just toasted them up a bit and they were fine) and parsley from same garden as the basil source, good olive oil… It was heavenly!

Here is the recipe I used as a guide – from Cook’s Illustrated – followed by my notes and pics:

Makes 3/4 cup, enough for 1 pound of pasta. Published July 1, 1996.

Pounding the basil releases its flavorful oils into the pesto more readily. Basil usually darkens in homemade pesto, but you can boost the green color a little by adding the optional parsley. For sharper flavor, substitute one tablespoon finely grated pecorino Romano cheese for one tablespoon of the Parmesan. The pesto can be kept in an airtight container, covered with a thin layer of oil (1 to 2 tablespoons), and refrigerated for up to four days or frozen for up to one month.
Ingredients
1/4    cup pine nuts , toasted (or substitute almonds or walnuts)
3    medium cloves garlic , unpeeled
2    cups packed fresh basil leaves
2    tablespoons fresh parsley leaves (optional)
7    tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt
1/4    cup finely grated Parmesan cheese or Pecorino Romano
Ground black pepper
Instructions

1. Toast the nuts in a small, heavy skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently, until just golden and fragrant, about 5 minutes; set aside. Add the garlic to the empty skillet and toast over medium heat, shaking the pan occasionally, until fragrant and the color of the cloves deepens slightly, about 7 minutes. Let the garlic cool slightly, then peel, and chop.

2. Place the basil and parsley (if using) in a heavy-duty 1-gallon zipper-lock plastic bag. Pound the bag with the flat side of a meat pounder or rolling pin until all the leaves are bruised.

3. Process the nuts, garlic, herbs, oil, and 1⁄2 teaspoon salt in a food processor until smooth, stopping as necessary to scrape down the sides of the bowl, about 1 minute. Stir in the Parmesan and season with salt and pepper to taste.

First – I was wondering, just HOW packed should the cups of basil leaves be? So, I packed them pretty much to the max a few times and weighed the results each time. 1.5 ounces per cup is what I got consistently.

1 cup packed basil equals 1.5 oz. That's a one cup measure to the left.

I had 3 cups/4.5 oz of basil leaves, to I increased amounts accordingly, although I lost concentration early on and toasted 3 times the amount of walnuts instead of 1 and 1/2 times, and also added .2 oz of leftover pine nuts I found in the fridge – but the pesto didn’t suffer from it!

Here is a shot of the freshly picked garlic from the Farmer’s Market that I used:

garlic knife basil

By the way, the knife you see in my pics was given to me by my Mom about 20 years ago. It is a great knife. And, I am lucky enough to have a live-in knife sharpening expert who keeps it and all my knives in most excellent shape!

Here is the end result:

Tomatoes picked from our backyard “whisky barrel” garden seasoned with a bit of dried oregano, freshly ground pepper, and salt, and then drizzled with olive oil,

The above-described pesto, and

Totally amazing “aged 3 years” cheddar cheese purchased at, yes, you guessed it, the Wakefield Farmer’s Market from Phil Hermann and MooBaaNaa Cheese. (I bought the ricotta today, also, and look forward to trying it. Phil said it is great for dessert with a touch of honey.)

But, here is our little appetizer feast:

YUM. There is nothing else to say.

arrrggghh – but I’ll write down the recipe, next time!

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I am so disappointed with myself. I purposely wrote down, exactly, each ingredient and how much of each when I made vegetable stock a few days ago. It came out heavenly. Sweet, with just a touch of a a so subtle edge of bitter that added depth… And I lost the darn slip of paper before I got it onto the computer. ARRGGHH!

But, no fear. I will do it again and be sure to immediately record it for posterity upon making it – and then share it if it tastes as good. <grin>

I can tell you the key ingredient. Corn cobs. Yes, after you enjoy your corn, SAVE THE COBS! Whether you use a pressure cooker as I do or simmer for a while on the stove, you will be at a high enough temperature to be sure all is safe. Asparagus stems are great in stock, too.

But, now that I think of it, although I have a bunch in the freezer (I always save and freeze them for stock) I should probably stick with vegetables that are available year-round at a reasonable price while coming up with a veggie stock recipe to share here. Although, I suspect that the asparagus stems may be almost as important as the corn cobs… Well, check back later to find out!

Pan Seared Shrimp, Roasted Red Potato Slices, and Mixed Greens

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Globe Fish Co had Gulf shrimp at the Farmer’s Market. Pricy, but I could not resist. And it was delicious! I found an easy recipe on recipezarr.com that is basically the same as the one I found on the Cook’s Illustrated site. Here it is:

The complete meal

3 tablespoons butter, softened
1 medium garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoo lemon juice
2 tablespoons fresh parsley leaves, chopped
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 1/2 lbs shrimp, peeled and deveined (21/25 count)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon sugar

Beat butter with a fork in a small bowl until light and fluffy. Stir in garlic, lemon juice, parsley and 1/8 tsp salt until combined. Set aside.
Heat 1 tbs oil in a 12-inch skillet over high heat until smoking. Meanwhile toss shrimp, salt, pepper and sugar in a medium bowl. Add half of shrimp to pan in a single layer and cook until spotty brown and edges turn pink, about 1 minute. Remove pan from heat; using tongs, flip each shrimp and let stand until all but very center is opaque, about 30 seconds. Transfer shrimp to a large plate.
Repeat with remaining oil and shrimp; after second batch has stood off heat, return first batch to skillet along with flavored butter and toss to combine. Cover skillet and let stand until shrimp are cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes. Serve with lemon wedges if desired.

Here is a close-up of the meal:

plated shrimp

The combination worked well – even with the bits of ham flavoring the collard greens. I will post that recipe separately and date it so it appears below this post, after the mozzarella post. And, you’ll find the potato recipe in the 7/19/09 Halibut post.

This meal was easy to create. I started the collard greens first. Once there were allin the pot and simmering, they needed no more attention. And, once they simmered for 45 minutes to and hour, I put them on low and could have left them for hours. Very handy recipe for when you are trying out a new entree! The potatoes are also easy and forgiving as to timing. I prepared and roasted them for 15 miutes at 350 and then left them until giving them a final 5 minute blast at 400 when it was time to serve. Of course, you need a toaster oven or a quick heating convection oven to do it this way. You can always roast them and then turn the oven to warm until serving time.

I then peeled and deveined the shrimp. Very easy to do. I just used my kitchen scissors to ship the shell and my finger to get the vein out, patted them dry, and put them in the fridge until I was ready to cook them. I also made the garlic butter ahead of time. Note on that: it says to “beat” the butter. the word “mashed up” better describes the process I used. I wonder if they recipe meant to instruct us to melt, rather than soften the butter? In any case, mashing worked just fine. <grin>

Then the time came to fire up the frying pan. The process went by so quickly that I forgot to take pictures! All the shrimp (14 of them to one pound) fit at one time, so I could skip transfer any to another plate. I reduced amounts of ingredients a bit, to, since the recipe calls for 1 and 1/2 pounds of shrimp.

I’ll certainly make shrimp this way again! I bet good quality shimp from the grocery store would be fine in the recipe, too. I’ve heard that Trader Joes has great shrimp. Not sure of the environmental and/or health safety of their source, but then again, I am not sure of that of these Gulf Shrimp, either. If anyone knows, let me know!

Can’t go wrong with fresh mozzarella!

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moz a and p from above

Fresh Mozarella purchased at the Farmer’s Market from “The Cheese Man” Phil Hermann, who brings locally made mozzerella, ricotta and goat cheese to the market. Basil, also from the Farmer’s Market. Tomatoes from our back yard. A little olive oil, salt, pepper and a touch of rice vinegar – out of this world!

and to think that you saw it on Armory St

Simmered Greens – Collard, Mustard, and Arugula

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I have a number of recipes for collard greens – some vegetarian, some more traditional, some specifying longer cook times, and one I found and use often that cooks up collards “quick and easy.” Before I get into the details of how I prepared them to serve with the Pan Seared Shrimp, here is the quick and easy (and tasty!) one from Cooking Light, November 1994.

Quick Collard Greens

1 cup low-salt chicken broth, divided
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
11 cups tightly packed chopped fresh collard greens (about 4 1/2 pounds)
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt

1. Heat 1/2 cup chicken broth in a large Dutch oven over medium heat until hot. Add garlic, and cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently.

2. Add collard greens and remaining 1/2 cup broth; stir well. Cover and cook 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; stir in crushed red pepper and salt.

You can always add a bit of smoked parprika or some scraps of ham to add a little of that tradional “ham hock” flavor.

But – now for the latest greens recipe. By the way, it is even better the next day. I am having some for breakfast as I write this part of the post. YUM!

Now, for years I didn’t really have a clue as to what to do with collard greens beyond toss them in soup. How this happened, given that I followed different vegetarian diets for years, including vegan and macrobiotic, I do not know! But, given that I have a ton of them and other greens in the garden I help with, I am glad I know what to do with them, now!

I know that prepping them was always a mystery for me, as was know how much resulted in how much once cooked. For those who are not familiar with collards, I took some pictures and will include written steps to help you along. But first, here are the ingredients I used most recently. Please note that you do not need to follow the amounts exactly when you make your greens. This is a ART not a SCIENCE. It is also a way to use up greens and ham scraps. <grin> I am just recording what I did so I can use it in the future as a guideline, as should you!

For example, I was planning to just do collard greens, but they cooked down so much, I cut the greens off the baby turnips I had bought and grabbed some argula I had picked a few days ago and added them, plus an additional cup of stock (I started with 2 cups) and then let it all simmer. Again, an art, not a science!

Assorted Greens Simmer

2 TBSP olive oil
2 medium oinions, chopped medium
2 clove garlic, chopped
heaping 1/4 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
3 cups veggie or other stock
5-6 oz ham scraps
11 oz chopped collards (maybe two bunches from the market?)
9 oz wild chopped arugula (the skinny leaves with pronouced indentations – from my garden)
9 oz turnip chopped greens (from the baby white turnips at the Farmer’s Market)

Heat the olive oil in a heavy saucepan or dutch oven. When hot, add onions, garlic, and pepper flakes and saute until soft, 5-10 minutes. Add ham scraps and suate for a few more minutes, then add stock and greens (or, you can add greens and wilt before adding stock). Bring stock to a light boil, cover pot tighty, and simmer for around an hour. Once there greens are quite tender, you can hold on low for hours.

I took some pictures while I made this dish, partly to show an easy way to prepare collards, and partly because I have fun taking pictures. 🙂

The first time I prepared collards greens in a way that came out really tasting really good was for my New Year’s Day open house on 1/1/09. You’ll find the recipe for vegatarian collard greens elsewhere on this blog, but there was one issue. It took a LONG time to prepare the collard greens! But now I know a better way…

Slice the thickest part of the stem off. the photo shows only one leaf,but you can do this with more than one leaf at a time. Then stack the leaves, roll them up, and slice into 1 1/2 inch wide strips.

slice the stems

chop the leaves

a bunch of leaves all chopped

all done - one-cup measure to right for scale

Saute the onion, garlic and peper flakes and add the ham.

Then, add the chopped collard greens

Once the collards cooked down, I realized that I needed more greens and added the turnip and arugla.

just collards cooked down

with other greens added

Remember, you don’t have to do greens and stock in two parts! This is just what I did when creating this dish.

Note: when preparing the other greens, do chop off the thicker stems – most get soft from the long simmer, but if too thick, they can be tough.

Another Note: if you don’t have ham or don’w want to use it, add maybe a teaspoon or so to taste of smoked parika if you want a deeper flavor. Also, you can add fresh or canned tomatoes to this dish at the end if you like.

I FINALLY figured out how to use the perfect gift

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Last Christmas, I received a lovely, thoughtful gift from the Coolidge family, with whom I grew up on Park Ave in Wakefield. (Daughter Linda and I have been best friends since 1965! And, coincidentally, the canisters peeking out from behind the book in the photo below were a gift from Linda and her husband Mike about 15 years ago.)

Here it is:

This lovely yet sturdy looseleaf holds original and/or favorite recipes

It has lined blank pages and plastic sleeves to protect the pages. Unfortunately, I have a bit of a problem with lined blank pages. The problem is my handwriting…

Oh dear, what was that I wrote?

BUT, dawn finally broke over Marblehead, as they say. (Is that saying specific to the Boston Metro North Shore?) I just got a very cool cooking and recipe program call The Living Cookbook that enables me to easily input recipes and then print them out in a consistant format. Why not just print them and stick them in with the pages and inserts? Works for me!

Hey, I can read all that!

So, a happy ending – Thank you Frank and Lillian Coolidge for a super gift! Now I can put all my “use often” recipes in this book instead of searching on the computer, rustling through pages of paper, and/or printing out yet ANOTHER copy when I need it.

By the way, Mr. Coolidge, I am hoping to get a cooking show going on WCAT – you WILL be invited as a guest!

Skye’s Lemon Pepper Marinade or, what WAS that Rosemary, Onion, and Garlic photo all about?

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I found this VERY TASTY recipe in About.com’s Southern Food section. I don’t know who Skye is, but here is the recipe with her comments:

I use the marinade on almost all meats and fish.. however Alaskan Coho Salmon is especially nice with this marinade! My husband really likes the Salmon but enjoys boneless, skinless chicken breasts as much!

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 small onion, finely minced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
fresh course ground black pepper, to taste
grated zest of one lemon

Preparation:

Mix all the ingredients and use the marinade immediately with meat or fish in your choice of a zip-lock plastic bag or container. Cover or seal and marinate in refrigerator. Use this as a basting sauce as well, but bring to a rolling boil before using after using as a marinade. [Wendy’s note – I don’t recommend re-suing marinade – make some extra to set aside for basting!] With or without marinating first, you will find that if you are grilling, this works best for most fish. (Note: if you want to add a sweeter caramelizing effect. Add 1-2 tablespoons of orange blossom (or clover is alright) honey to the marinade recipe.

This was really good. I used it on a variety pack of chicken pieces and had Steve cook them on the grill. I took the most of the skin off all but the drumsticks since the skin keeps moisture in and drumsticks seem, to me, to get dry more quickly than the other parts (besides wings, but there were no wings in this pack.)

I think my husband at first thought the lemon flavor was too intense, but he ate it, and continued to eat the leftovers the next day or two, so I think he liked it once he knew what to expect. Leftover, it made a great chicken salad, too!

I really enjoyed the very lemony flavor and, even for those (like my husband) who might be surprised at first, I do think all the flavors meld even more beautifully by the next day. This is definitely something you can cook in a batch via grill or oven and then have on hand for the next few days.

Next time, I want to try Skye’s suggestion to try adding honey. I suspect that it will add a really nice touch. Anyway, This is what I was making when I took the photo in the Rosemary, Onion, and Garlic post. Also, a thank you to my friend Susan Calabrese’s husband Mark for making the wonderful cutting board featured in that photo. Hmm, I should go credit him in that post. I will do that next. But, if you try adding honey to this recipe before I post about it, please leave a comment about it!

Pan-fried halibut, sauteed pea tendrils, and roasted red potatoes from the Farmer’s Market

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First, go check out the Wakefield Farmer’s Market Web site if you have not done so before! If you live in or near Wakefield MA or plan to visit before the middle of October, be sure to check out the Farmer’s Market on Saturday mornings 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. See the Web site for directions, etc.

Globe Fish Co. had Gulf shrimp last week, and I was planning to purchase some this week. Unfortunately, they didn’t have any this time around, so I got halibut instead and, at my husband’s request, agreed to prepare it fried. I also bought a variety of produce from Farmer Dave and Flats Mentor Farm, which specializes in Asian produce, and decided on potatoes and pea tendrils to accompany.

The Ingredients: red potatoes, halibut, and pea tendrils

I do not having a lot of experience preparing fish. I am now pretty comfortable baking it, and was successful my recent and first try at blackened salmon, but this would be my first time frying it. And, I was up against some stiff competition: Fried fish was apparently one of Steve’s Mom’s specialties and I was hoping to create at least a satisfying, if not perfect match to his memories. I am pleased to report that I was successful! Here is the recipe I followed:

PAN-FRIED FISH FILLETS
Source: https://teriskitchen.com/seafood/fried-a.html

This is basic and can be used with any firm, white-fleshed fish, as well as shrimp, scallops and oysters. After trying many different types of coatings and methods, this is my preference. The resulting crust is always crispy and not too thick. In a pinch, you could use finely crushed low-salt saltines in place of the homemade breadcrumbs. I think that is a better choice than store-bought breadcrumbs which, in my experience, never yield a crispy crust and taste a little like cardboard.

* 2 pounds firm, white-fleshed fish fillets, such as flounder or catfish
* 1 cup all-purpose flour
* Salt and pepper to taste
* 2 eggs, beaten with 2 tablespoons water
* 1-1/2 cups homemade dried breadcrumbs
* Oil for frying, such as vegetable or canola
* Lemon wedges
* Tartar sauce (see recipe)

1. Place flour on plate or wax paper. Season with salt and pepper; mix well. Place breadcrumbs on large plate or wax paper. Coat fish lightly with flour, shaking off excess. Dip into egg wash and let excess drip off. Coat thoroughly with breadcrumbs, again shaking off excess. Place on wire rack. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to help ensure that the coating will adhere to the fish when frying.

2. Meanwhile, heat large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add oil, about 1/2-inch thick, or thick enough to come about half-way up the sides of the fish. Heat oil until hot. Remove fish from refrigerator and fry, in batches as needed, until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side depending on thickness. Remove to a clean wire rack to drain. Season with additional salt, if desired. Serve with lemon wedges and tartar sauce.

Servings: 4

Ready to dip the fish.

fish with coating and ready for a 30 minute chill in the fridge

[Note: I purchase two packs of the fish totaling just about 1.5 pounds, WAY more than needed for a meal for two. I actually held back a few pieces to freeze after breading and a few pieces to freeze after frying, just to see if this could be a viable “cook ahead/meal from the freezer” recipe. I’ll let you know later!]

Next, I made some tartar sauce – just a mix of sweet relish and mayo, with just enough prepared horseradish to add a bite, and put it in the fridge until dinner time.

While the coated fish was in the fridge chilling, as per the recipe, I sliced up the potatoes – a bit under 1/2 ” thick – seasoned them with a salt and a liberal amount of freshly ground black pepper, added a light coating of olive oil, and spread them out on a pan that I had sprayed with canola oil.

prepped potatoes

I put them in my toaster oven at 350 degrees for 15 minutes to start – or, at least, I thought to start because recipes usually call for 30 minutes at 400 degrees. However, these were done in the 15 minutes – probable because they were freshly dug (higher water content is my guess) and also sliced thinly (about 1/2 inch or less.) Since I would be wanting things to be done at the same time, this worked out great. I left them in the oven and finished them off for 5 minutes at 400 degrees as I was frying the fish.

I also prepped for the pea trendrils while I was waiting for the coated fish to chill. First I flavored some olive oil by sauteing garlic slices then, once they were a bit browned, let them sit in the oil until I was ready to saute the pea tendrils. That way, I was all ready to quickly saute the pea tendrils once the fish was done and draining on a rack before serving.

Flavoring the oil with garlic

I then went through the pea tendrils and removed the thicker parts of the stems and also the little twisty tendril strings because I read that they could be tough and “stringy” when cooked.

After the fish was chilled and all was prepped (or, in the case of the potatoes, pre-cooked) I took the fish from the fridge and put between a 1/4 and 1/2 an inch of canola oil in my 12 inch frying pan, turning on the burner to medium high. At this time, I put the toaster oven on to finish off the potatoes for 5 minutes at 400 – or was it 450?? degrees. Enough to crisp.

Once the oil in the frying pan was giving off an aroma and there was some movement, I tossed in a little bit of the fish batter until it sizzled very vigorously. Then I added the fish – carefully! That oil gets hot! I let it fry on one side for about 3 minutes and the other for about the same, until each side was a golden brown. Then I removed the fish to a rack to drain before serving. I also blotted with paper towel immediately before plating.

Once the fish was done, I quickly heated up the oil in the wok and added the pea tendrils for just a minute or two, until wilted. Then, dinner was served:

Dinner for two

With homemade tartar sauce and lemon wedges

The verdict: The fish was a total success! REALLY good. According to Steve, as good as his Mom’s and, seemingly ironically, since I cooked the fish in more oil than he remembers his Mom using, less greasy. I think that using more oil enabled the fish to form a crust more quickly and sealed out the fat more efficiently. Something like that.

The potatoes were also delicious. I used a VERY liberal amount of black pepper and they had a nice punch to them, and the final roasting brown them nicely – just the right amount of crispness on the outside.

The pea tendrils, alas, were not as big a success. The flavor is lovely, but, as I suspected might happen, the stems were stringy while the tender leaves were cooked almost too much. I have this problem when sauteeing arugula and spinich, also. Now I am wishing I used the following recipe because, although I feared using the chicken broth would cook the leaves too much, it would have most likely have softened the stems. I will try it next time I cook this sort of green.

Sauteed Pea Tendrils with Garlic
Bon Appétit – March 2006

1 Tbs canola oil
2 small garlic cloves, smashed
12 oz fresh pea tendrils
1/2 cup low-salt chicken broth
preparation

1. Heat oil in heavy large skillet over high heat. Add garlic and sauté until beginning to brown, about 2 minutes. Remove garlic. Add tendrils; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add chicken broth and sauté until greens are slightly wilted and heated through, about 2 minutes. Serve immediately.

By the way, the pea tendrils are quite tasty with a delicate crunch to them when raw. I highly recommend them in a salad. Also, the woman selling them said that she often uses them in soup. I held some back and will see how they do in soup when I next experiment in the kitchen.

I still have corn, carrots, summer squash, and baby white turnips from my trip to the market, but I probably won’t do anything very fancy with them – I am sure they will taste super just as is or lightly cooked!

That’s it for now. Do let me know if you have any surefire tricks for sauteing greens without the stems getting stringy!