Month: June 2019

Pleasure.

/ farmedfishedforagedranched / 1 Comment

Pleasure doesn’t have to be complicated. It can come from a walk on the beach. Seeing your kids interacting as adults and enjoying each other. It comes from a perfect simple meal. Fresh laundry and clean sheets on the bed. A new puppy sleeping soundly.

And new combinations. I took inspiration from Rachel Ray on this recipe. And there are so many ways to play with it. At the core is a simple recipe of clean creamed corn. Then play to your hearts content. Start with the recipe here, then expand to what you like to add.

Beauty Shot:

Creamed Corn with Grilled Scallops and Quick Pickled Onions

Ingredients:

1/2 Red Onion sliced thinly

1/4 C Red Wine Vinegar

1/2 C Water

1 T Granulated Stevia (of course you can use sugar in the same amount)

Kosher salt

1/2 Red Onion diced (the other half of the the thinly sliced one!)

6 Ears of Cleaned Corn (I used Peaches and Cream-was delish!)

1 T EVOO + a little for brushing the scallops

1 12 oz. can Evaporated Milk

1-1 1/2 half-pound Large Scallops, cleaned and patted dry

2 tsp Minced Garlic (cheat and use the jarred stuff here)

1/2 C halved Grape Tomatoes (if you can use yellows and reds-nice flavor add and color)

1/2 C Chiffonade cut Basil

1/4 C Chopped Cilantro

Putting it Together:

Halve the tomatoes.

For the quick pickled onions: Take the red wine, water, pinch of kosher salt and Stevia and place into medium pot on medium heat on stove. Bring to boil. Remove from heat and add the onions.

On to the Creamed Corn: For 4 of the ears of corn, slice off the kernels and set aside. On the remaining 2 ears, grate them with a box grater. (No flour here! The grated corn will thicken the mixture.) Keep the grated and kernels separate.

Turn on the grill and set to high heat.

On the stove, in a deep fry pan, heat 1 tsp of EVOO to medium and glistening. Add in the chopped red onion and garlic. Cook till softened, 4-5 minutes. Make sure to stir so the garlic doesn’t burn! Will turn bitter.

Add in corn kernels and cook till warmed through about 3 minutes. add in the grated corn and evaporated milk to the pan. Cook down till slightly thickened. Add in 1/4 C of the basil to the mix. This will be the base for the scallops so don’t want it to runny. Remove from heat and keep warm.

Brush the scallops with olive oil and a bit of salt and pepper. Can skewer, or use a grill pan to grill. Grill one side for 2 minutes, then flip and grill other side for 1 minute, or until no longer opaque.

Of course, you are also welcome to pan fry. In case you are getting wind and rain like we were. Just pat dry, heat pan on medium high, add in olive oil (and a pat of butter if you are me), place scallops in the pan. Let stay with original side down for 2-3 minutes to achieve browning. After browned, flip and continue to brown for 2 minutes more.

Serving:

Place a ladle or so of creamed corn mix to a plate. Place 1/4 of the scallops on top of creamed corn to one side. Add a 1/4 of the tomatoes next to the scallops. Next, place some of the pickled onions next to the tomatoes. Top with the some of the basil, and cilantro.

try on other trick: stir in some chiffonade basil into the corn mix just before serving. Then top per the directions. The heat releases the beautiful scent and flavor. No more than a teaspoon or two.

So fresh and summer like! And with corn season upon us, you will make this often!

Enjoy!

Terri

Tales.

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“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” Lao Tzu… I believe he captured the spirit of adventure and life perfectly. The act of putting one foot in front of the other at times can be mindless. I am going to run to the grocery store. Going to start the laundry. At other times it is a gift- running to hug someone that really needs the comfort. And yet at other times, it can be the most difficult thing in the world; relearning how to walk after an accident, saying good bye to someone forever then turning and walking away.

But I want to speak of happy tales- adventures, exploration, joy. When we experience joy, new things, we open up new synapses in our brains. Expanding our own internal footprint. When I hike a new trail, take a new road, see beauty or create a new dish, I know I am creating a new tale for my history. And all it takes is a single step to begin.

This hummus is the best hummus I have ever eaten. And that’s not bragging. It is the truth. SO much better than store bought. And yummy with crudites, naan, on top of chicken, lamb, etc.. Truly, when I make this, we eat the whole batch in 2 days. And that’s a lot of hummus. So take that first step to making your own hummus..Your brain will light up with happiness.

Hummus with Sea Salt, EVOO and Za’tar

Beauty Shot:

Spring Creek Slot Canyon

Hummus with Garlic

Ingredients:

2 cans Garbanzo Beans, rinsed and drained

1 tsp baking soda

1/2cup fresh lemon juice (do the work, it makes a huge difference) + more to taste if you choose.

2-4 cloves of garlic chopped. ( I like a lot of garlic so I go heavy. If you don’t, go light)

1 tsp sea salt

1 Cup Tahini ( I like organic Tahini- like Simple Truth from Kroger or Trader Joe’s organic Tahini)

2 T EVOO

4 T cold water (I use cold water out of the refrigerator door)

Toppings:

Za’tar (look in middle eastern food stores, Cost Plus World Market carries it, and some grocery stores.)

Toasted Pinenuts

Coarse sea salt

EVOO

Putting it Together:

Take the 2 drained cans of chickpeas and place them and the baking soda into a medium pan on the stove. Cover with 2″ of water and bring to low boil. Allow to boil for 20 minutes. Peas will begin to lose their skins- don’t worry this is a good thing! (you may need to add additional water to keep the chickpeas/garbanzos covered).

Happily boiling to softened goodness~

When 20 minutes is done, rinse the chickpeas/garbanzos under cool water in a strainer. (Note: went to an authentic Jordanian restaurant in SLC, Sharazad, and was speaking to the waitress about this trick. She asked me, astonished, how I knew this. She said this is the secret passed down to daughters from Grandmothers!)

Rinsed and Drained
After boiling- no need to throw the skins away! Just add to the processor.

In a food processor, add the garlic, 1 tsp sea salt. Pulse till frothy mixture. Garlic is almost non-existent. Then let stand a few minutes.

Add the cup of Tahini to the garlic mixture in the food processor. Add in the EVOO at this time. Blend until creamy and smooth, Scrape down sides as needed to incorporate all the tahini.

Add in the garbanzo beans to the food processor. and begin machine. While this is processing, drizzle in the 2-4 T of cold water. Scrape down sides and continue to process for about 2 minutes. You may want to add more to achieve the mixture you want. Mixture should be very pale and creamy.

Almost perfect!

Ready to dig in!

Remove from food processor. Put some in a bowl and drizzle with EVOO, coarse sea salt and Za’tar. Dig in with Naan, carrots, Persian cucumber wedges, a chunk of chicken, whatever you like. And I like a bowl of pitted Kalamata’s on the side.

Great snack, full of protein and fiber.

Enjoy!