Zucchini days

Zucchini is what I eat when I feel lazy--so lazy that chewing on lettuce is too much of an effort, as is trying to figure out something to do with cabbage. This is what I've been doing lately: cutting the zucchini into slices, then boiling it until it is soft, and serving as a side dish for everything--rice and salmon, pasta with bolognese sauce, mashed potato and chicken sausage. Zucchini is becoming a perfect food for these last few days of summer, when the humidity lingers in the air, and you can't wait for fall.

The Glory of Summer Tomatoes

Today is Labor Day, which some consider to be a marker of the end of summer. School has started, the sun is setting earlier, and white pants are being stored for next year. However, the season lives on for tomatoes. Summer tomatoes are real tomatoes meant for eating. Those rock-hard, pale red, flavorless orbs in December supermarkets are only good if used for self-defense. On the other hand, carefully chosen tomatoes in the summer are aromatic, slightly acidic, juicy, and delicious on their own or lightly seasoned with salt and olive oil. The key is to choose a ripe tomato, meaning that it is squishy enough to give when squeezed but not so much as to liquefy, that it emits a pleasant odor, and that it is brightly colored, whether red for the conventional tomato, or maybe a vibrant yellow for an heirloom varietal. Never mind dirt, which can be washed off, or scars, which, to my knowledge, have no bearing on flavor. Just pick a good one, and enjoy a pleasure available for another month or two.

Cheese Corner: Cypress Grove Purple Haze

While I usually stay away from goat cheese due to its strong and distinctive flavor, my new favorite cheese is a soft goat cheese I picked up from Whole Foods Union Square on Sunday. Cypress Grove, makers of the delectable Humboldt Fog, makes Purple Haze. Lavender embedded in this mild and soft Californian cheese adds fragrance and tempers any "goaty" flavor. Enjoy Purple Haze with sourdough or oat crackers, or squeeze it onto some mixed greens and vinegrette for salad.

The library discovery

Late one afternoon this week, I sought shelter for the heat in the Jefferson Market Branch of the New York Public Library. I also was looking for something entertaining to read. Browsing the new books revealed nothing of interest. Everything by Jeffrey Steingarten was checked out, and the history section was full of books as wide as my cat. I considered the options in the cooking section, which seemed to consist of Rocco Dispirito's "Flavor", a large section of diet and vegetarian cookbooks, and classics by Julia Child. While cookbooks certainly have their uses, my hope was to find a book of food essays. On a lower shelf lay a plastic covered book. I reached for it and found what I had come for.

"Beard on Food" is a compilation of some of James Beard's food essays. Beard uses clear, powerful language to declare his love for food. He praises cheese and lobster, charcuterie and picnics. While Beard is revered as an American gastronomic expert, he is no snob (except for perhaps, his scathing indictment of garlic salt.) He devotes essays to items such as hamburger and pancakes. While this book was published in 1975, it has a modern feel, with an essay written about ways to reduce calories, exploration of international foods such as mezze and carnitas, and an emphasis on fresh ingredients. Beard's collection is one of the better discoveries that I've made at the library, and I hope that you will discover it, too.

On the perfection of the ham sandwich

Some might write ham sandwiches off as mundane, but I find the ham sandwich perfect for a summer lunch. The ham sandwich is easy to make, cost-effective, portable and tasty. To make a ham sandwich worthy of lunch, it is necessary to choose ingredients carefully. First, the ham should be French ham or another ham of similar quality. I prefer the boiled or baked variety and don't care for smoked hams in this sandwich (though they are certainly useful in other culinary pursuits.) Next, the bread should be a French baguette with enough crunch to be interesting, but not so much as to become as hard as a brick over a day. Finally, I like to use salted butter or mayonnaise as a spread. The assembly is simple: slice the baguette in half, pile the ham on the bread, spread one half of the baguette with either butter or mayonnaise, sprinkle some freshly ground pepper on top of the ham, close the sandwich, and slice the baguette (I usually cut 3-inch pieces). For variation, one can add cornichon to a ham sandwich spread with butter. To make banh mi jambon, choose the ham sandwich with mayonnaise, and stuff it with cilantro, sliced jalapeno, and pickled carrots and daikon radish.

Freshly Ground Pepper

Besides being useful as a repellant for inquisitive cats, freshly ground pepper adds a nutty, subtly warm flavor to many dishes. I add freshly ground pepper to just about everything I make in the kitchen. Fried rice gets a generous grinding as does the Greek salad purchased from Murray's cheese. Pastas already seasoned with red pepper flakes get an added zing from black pepper. Using freshly ground pepper can also help season a dish so that one can lessen the amount of salt and fat added.

In addition to tasting good, freshly ground pepper can make a dish look aesthetically pleasing. The dark sprinkles add a colorful contrast to foods such as scrambled eggs, chicken and ginger porridge, and spaghetti with tomato sauce. A wedge of Brie becomes festive when rolled around in freshly ground pepper, and a coating of freshly ground pepper turns a slab of beef into steak au poivre.

Buying peppercorns in bulk ensures that this flavoring is inexpensive in addition to dynamic. In New York City, I purchase peppercorns in bulk at Western Beef at 14th St. and 9th Ave. In Berkeley, I head to the bulk bins at Berkeley Bowl, and elsewhere, Costco is a good bet for bulk peppercorns.

Summer Bruschetta

Some call it "Brewsketta"; some say "brewshetta". All it takes is 4 roma tomatoes, 2 cloves of garlic, one baguette, a bundle of basil, salt, and olive oil. Chop the tomatoes and garlic and throw into a bowl. Slice the basil and add to the tomato mixture. Add salt and olive oil to taste and mix. Let this mixture sit for 10-15 minutes (longer, if you have the patience.) Cut the baguette in half and then the halves into 3-inch pieces. Place under the broiler until lightly charred. Place the baguette pieces on a festive plate and spoon the tomato mixture onto the baguette. Make sure to grab napkins and little plates as this bruschetta, while delicious, may be messy.

Cheese Corner: Havarti

Havarti is a buttery, semi-soft cheese that works well as a snack with crackers, melts nicely for grilled cheese or quesadillas, and is mild enough so that no one could be offended by its taste or smell. One can purchase it plain or, if it is too mild for one's tastes, flavored with herbs and spices such as dill and caraway. Havarti is relatively inexpensive and makes a good substitute for Monterey Jack in sandwiches. My only gripe about Havarti is that it is often difficult to cut due to its softness (it tends to cling to the knife or cheese slicer), so that it is best to cut it with a sharp knife immediately after removing from the refrigerator, and then to let it come to room temperature.

Chili Lime Popcorn

For a spicy, healthy snack, make a large bowl of popcorn through airpopping or in a pot on the stove. Or, if you don't have an air-popper or lack the patience to make popcorn over the stove, heat up a bag of plain or natural flavored popcorn (butter flavor will not do for this recipe.) Cut up a lemon or lime into 4 pieces and while tossing the popcorn, squeeze 2-3 pieces into the popcorn (depending on how much you like sour flavors). Season with salt and chili powder while tossing, to taste.

Maui-Style Fish Tacos

Since I have been getting some mail from readers about fish tacos, I would like to share my recipe for Maui-Style Fish Tacos.
First, some background on these tacos. It has been several weeks since I was in Hawaii. While on Maui, fish tacos became an after-snorkeling staple that I enjoyed along with a cool cup of shave ice. These tacos were different from the ones I had eaten previously in Baja California. They consisted of grilled mahi-mahi over cilantro rice, topped with a garlic mayonnaise sauce, salsa, shredded cabbage, and served in a corn tortilla. Here's the version you can make at home:

Ingredients
Package of Corn Tortillas
Head of Cabbage, finely sliced
1/4-1/2 lb mahi-mahi, defrosted or fresh, cut into 3/4 inch squares
Olive oil for sauteeing
Mayo
Ketchup
2 cloves garlic
Jar of Salsa Verde (Green Salsa)
Bunch of Cilantro, chopped
White Rice
Garlic Salt
Lemons/Limes
Salt and Pepper

Cook a small amount of the white rice. Once the rice is cooked, add the chopped cilantro and garlic salt to taste and fluff. Set aside.
In a food processer or blender, add 2 tbps of mayo, 1/2 tbp ketchup, 3 cloves garlic, a squirt of lemon or lime juice, and a couple of shakes of salt. Process until the sauce is pink and there is no evidence of individual garlic cloves. Taste, and add more salt if appropriate.
Heat a pan with a tablespoon of olive oil in it. Add your mahi-mahi and season with salt and pepper. Saute until flaky.
Heat corn tortillas.
To assemble a taco, take a corn tortilla and apply 1 teaspoon garlic mayo sauce from top to bottom at the widest point. Spread a heaping tablespoon of cilantro rice along the strip of garlic mayo. Next, place enough mahi-mahi on the rice so that the rice is covered. Add a teaspoon of salsa verde to the mahi-mahi. Finally, top with as much cabbage as can fit in the taco and fold. Do this with the other corn tortillas until you are satisfied with the number of tacos you have made. Enjoy, and think of Maui.