Summer Salads from The Market Tasting

Thanks a million to all the folks that came to Thursday's tasting event! Hope you enjoyed the salads and here are the recipes! A big thanks to Prochaska Farms for the awesome vegetables, they made our salads super great!

Watermelon Salad

1 small watermelon, rind removed, seeded and sliced
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 lb. Bleu Affine or Danish cheese

3 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar (I used our Boulevard Market bottled one!)
3 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil (I used Mas Portell brand from Spain)
Salt and pepper

Toss to combine watermelon, onion and bleu affine cheese. In a small bowl combine vinegar and lemon juice. With a whisk, add olive oil in a thin drizzle, constantly whisking until emulsified. Salt and pepper to taste.

I laid my fruit and cheese out on a large platter and drizzled with the dressing. Magnificent!


Halloumi & Sweet Corn Salad

3 large ears of sweet corn, blanched and cut from cob
4 ounces Piqullo peppers, sliced (These are Spanish peppers that have been roasted and peeled) or sauteed sweet red peppers
1 package Halloumi cheese, approx. 8 ounces

2 Tablespoons fresh chives
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and pepper

Grill Halloumi over high heat until browned and crispy. Combine cheese, peppers and corn.

In food processor, pulse chives and oil until pureed.

Drizzle Chive Oil over vegetables and toss to coat. Salt and pepper to taste.

I only used about 1/2 of the chive oil recipe on my dish and saved the rest to use on chicken!

ZUCCHINI & WALNUT SALAD

1/3 cup toasted walnuts
3 medium-ish zucchini, sliced ¼ inch thick
4 T Olive Oil
Salt & pepper
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1 ¼ cups mixed greens
½ cup fresh torn herbs
3 ounces romano cheese, curled
2 Tablespoons Extra virgin olive oil

Tear greens and herbs and toss lightly in a large bowl.
Toss zucchini with olive oil and grill over high heat on a BBQ grill until tender.

Toss zucchini with greens, sprinkle with toasted walnuts and romano. Lightly whip balsamic vinegar and evoo until emulsified and drizzle over greens.

White Sangria

I'm always in love with Sangria in the summer, but I'm not fond of the overly sweet, fake fruity stuff, so I created my White Sangria to be refreshing and just lightly sweet. By using a simple syrup, you can ad just the sweetness you like versus waiting for sugar to dissolve or cooking your wine and allowing to cool. Feel free to use the simple syrup for Mint Juleps, Mojitos or drizzling over fresh fruit. If mint is not your thing, you could easily use rosemary, basil or thyme for an herbal edge that gives your sangria layers and layers of flavor!! Of course you can use whatever fresh fruit you have and enjoy the most. We love lemon slices and strawberries or fresh peaches and blueberries as combos!

SIMPLE SYRUP
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
a handful of fresh mint leaves (cut this amt down for thyme or rosemary, use the same for fresh basil)

In a small saucepan, bring to a boil. Reduce heat to maintain a boil and cook 5 minutes. Bottle up and refrigerate up to 1 month.

WHITE SANGRIA

1 bottle DRY white wine (I used a Spanish Verdelho from Rueda)
16 ounces cold club soda
1 batch simple syrup
handful of fresh raspberries
3 fresh plums, chopped
2 handfuls of frozen green grapes instead of ice

Make sure all of your ingredients are cold. Mix all ingredients in a pitcher, allow to sit about 15 minutes and enjoy!!

GAZPACHO @ THE MARKET

Our workshop for Gazpacho was fun last night! This recipe is my family's favorite, so feel free to adjust seasonings to suit your family's tastes. Tis the season for all of the fresh produce!! If you've got the time to make a day in advance, you'll appreciate this, otherwise, I make it an hour in advance and it's perfectly amazing!!

GAZPACHO

5 small tomatoes, quartered
3/4 of a 6 inch cucumber, cut into chunks, peeled if using a cucumber, unpeeled if using a "pickling cucumber or English cucumber
1 small onion, chopped
3/4 of a sweet bell pepper
2 cloves minced garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper (I used Bourbon Barrel Smoked :))
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 cup Olive Oil (I used Zoe brand)
2 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar (I used the 20 year at The Market, sweeter is better)
2 Tablespoons fresh Cilantro
1 cup or so of Tomato Juice ( need to adjust to desired thickness)

Blue cheese, fresh goat cheese or yogurt for garnish would be nice too

In a blender, I chop onions and cucumbers first and then throw the rest in on set on grind. For a finer puree, use the "liquify" setting. TASTE, TASTE again and adjust seasonings to fit your taste! Will last up to 3 days or so in fridge before "splitting".

OLE!

PAELLA RECIPE @THE MARKET

Thank you one and all for coming out for The Boulevard Market's Spanish Night! The Paella was a big hit and so easy to make at home! Here is the recipe I follow and just cut down amounts according to how many you are serving. I reduced the ingredient amount to 4 cups broth and 2 cups rice...so you'll get a gauge of how much the original makes! Feel free to give a call if you run into a snag.....

PAELLA

6 cups very strong chicken broth (bouillon)
1/2 tsp saffron
1/4 tsp smoked Spanish paprika (Pimentón de la Vera)
1 small onion, peeled
2 small chickens, about 2-1/2 lbs each (I used boneless skinless chicken breast for ease in eating)
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 lb of cooking chorizo, in 1/4 inch slices
1/4 lb piece jamón serrano ham, diced (optional-I didn't use last night)
1 medium onion, chopped
4 scallions, chopped
4 tbsp chopped garlic
2 sweet peppers
1 lb small or medium shrimp, shelled
3 cups short grain Spanish rice such as Bomba or Calasparra
5 tbsp chopped parsley
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/4 lb fresh or frozen peas
18 clams and/or mussels, scrubbed (While I didn't use because of the lack in our county, this is a MUST for authentic flavor!)
Lemon wedges for garnish
Parsley for garnish

Heat the broth with the saffron, paprika and the whole onion. Cover and simmer 15 minutes. Remove the onion and measure the broth -- you need exactly 5-1/2 cups.

Cut the chickens into small serving pieces -- the whole breast in 4 parts, each thigh into 2 parts, the bony tip of the leg chopped off, the wing tip discarded, and the rest of the wing separated into 2 parts. Dry the pieces well and sprinkle with salt.

In a metal Paella pan, with about a 15 inch base, heat the oil. Add the chicken pieces and fry over high heat until golden. Remove to a warm platter. Add the chorizo, and jamón to the pan and stir fry about 10 minutes. Add the chopped onion, scallions, garlic, and peppers and saute until the onion is wilted. Add the shrimp and saute about 3 minutes more, or until the shrimp barely turn pink. Remove the shrimp to the platter with the chicken. Add the rice to the pan and stir to coat it well with the oil. Sprinkle in the 5 tablespoons of chopped parsley. (You can make in advance up to this point.)

Stir in the chicken broth, boiling hot, the wine, rice, and peas. Salt to taste. Bring to a boil and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, over medium high heat about 20-30 minutes or until rice is tender and juice has been absorbed. Bury the shrimp and the chicken in the rice. Add the clams and the mussels, pushing them into the rice, with the edge that will open facing up.

To serve, decorate with lemon wedges (or squeeze over at the counter) and chopped parsley.

French Night Meringues

Thanks all for coming to The Market for our "French Night" and I hope you enjoyed all the tasty treats and Meringue Workshop! I would love for you to post comments, tips and ideas from your own meringue experience! If you need a plan for your leftover egg yolks, you may want to check out another French favorite here.

4 egg whites, room temperature
2 1/4 cups powdered sugar or caster sugar

Preheat oven to 200 degrees.

Separate eggs carefully, making certain there is absolutely no yolks in the whites.

Wipe down mixing bowl and beaters with white vinegar to capture any bit of oils that might be lurking.

Place egg whites in bowl and beat on medium until stiff peaks have formed then begin adding sugar a couple tablespoons at a time allowing all to be incorporated. You will slowly see the mixture become a satiny shiny pillow. Stop at this point, resist over beating.

Pipe out whites onto a parchment lined baking sheet and bake about 1 1/2 hours for half dollar sized, increasing baking time a bit according to size. Do not open oven door. Turn off oven and allow to cool overnight or several hours.

Vin d'Orange

I have forever loved the European custom of an aperitif. If you're not familiar with it, you can read about it on my previous post. Most recently, I tried my hand at making Vin d'Orange. I researched a gazillion recipes and tried the one I thought seemed the most authentic. I waited the requisite month of aging and .....yuck. It was weirdly slimy and pulpy and murky, not what I had in mind for a tiny afternoon tipple or a lovely spring brunch I was planning. Generally, the recipes consisted of allowing whole oranges to soak in wine and sugar about a month, then boiling the mixture, straining and adding the brandy.

So, I put on my creative hat and began again. This recipe is not as traditional, but there are a few points I think you'll like better.

1.I didn't boil the entire bottle of wine, so I am assuming you keep the majority of the alcohol intact.
2.Much fresher flavor overall, less of a "baked" taste. I also think you could add some club soda to make it sparkle.
3.The long strand of orange zest looked really fabulous suspended in the wine.
4.We drank on days 4 and finished the bottle on day 10.....I hate waiting.

So very sorry, apparently I did not photograph.....please use imagination to visualize.


VIN D’ORANGE

1 bottle (750ml) dry white wine (I used Pinot Grigio)
Zest from 3 Oranges
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup Brandy or other spirits

In a small saucepan, combine 1 cup of wine, sugar and orange zest over medium heat. Bring to a boil, turn down heat and simmer 10 minutes. Allow to cool to room temperature.

Combine remaining wine and Brandy in a decorative pitcher or bottle.

Using a fine sieve or coffee filter, strain zest/sugar mixture and add to wine/brandy combination. Add a piece of zest if desired. Refrigerate. This will last up to 1 year in a cool place. Serve cold as an aperitif.

I packaged mine in a great, clear, flip top bottle for a bit of vintage flair, but you could also pour right back into the pinot grigio bottle and re-label!

Build your own potting Bench

On of the greatest gifts I have ever received was a potting bench John made for me. It was a past life of growing my own seedlings, being a Master Gardener and creating massive perennial beds and vegetable gardens.....



I was upset this Spring to see a rotting leg on my old potting bench despite good care throughout the years, so it had to go. I briefly considered purchasing a new potting bench and then just realized we could copy the old because I loved it so much and it was a fraction of the cost of a cheaply built bench.

I also use my bench for outdoor entertaining with just some cute flour sack towels under the dishes or for a copper bucket with ice and wine bottles.

If you don't have a power saw, you can easily have your boards cut at the local hardware and haul it all home prepped. I used treated lumber because I don't want to bring my bench inside during winter weather, but it's a personal choice as treated lumber does have some environmental downsides.

The bench only took about an hour and a half to build and had I been smart, I would have stained all of the boards first, but (whatchgonnado), sometimes it takes me a little to catch on!

Here is what you need for construction;

Weatherproof screws 2 inches long

8-1X4 boards 48 inches long (top of bench, back support and top shelf)
5-1X4 boards 45 inches long (bottom shelf boards)

4-2X4 boards 24 inches long (bench supports)
2-2X4 boards 36 inches long (front legs)
2-2X4 boards 60 inches (back legs)

2 1X4 boards 10 inches long (top shelf supports)
(You could also replace these boards with some decorative iron brackets, it would look REALLY great)

Weatherproofing stain or paint of choice


This is mainly a 1 person project, however you may need a helping hand when putting the main frame work together as it becomes cumbersome for 1 person.

Put the sides together first, making sure that the leg bottoms are perfectly level to each other. Attach back support board to topmost back leg and level before screwing in. You want this even with top of leg boards. You may always add an additional 1X4 board here as well, for hooks or a decorative piece of wood (this will be your visible "back").



Measuring accurately, lay out bottom shelf boards and screw in with 2 screws on each side of board. You'll want 1 1/2 inches of space between each board. John and I didn't measure the bottom boards the same as my old bench for this step. On my old bench the boards were 45 inches for the bottom shelf and so they lined up perfectly with the 2X4 support and the most outer edge board of the shelf which is cut to fit between the 2X4 supports. While it looks ok with the 48 inch boards, I preferred the other look. (It was starting to rain and I said to hell with it, just put them on :))



Next start on the top shelf boards, measuring accurately and using 2 screws per side of board with 1 1/2 inch space between edges of boards.

Last we added the top most shelf lining up the board to be even with the entire back of the legs and support board across back. (NOTE; this is where we went a little jenky; Your 10 inch support pieces should be cut with 45 degree angles. As you can see, mine are not. RULE OF THUMB WHEN BUILDING Measure twice, cut once.)

Add your support beams on the inside, lining up with the back legs and put in just 1 screw. Line up your second shelf board and adjust to be level, then add additional screws to attach and secure.



After reading this, it's the most unprofessional builder advice ever, but it should be easy to understand and implement. Small imperfections don't bother me on a DIY project and gives things a bit of character. So don't get too bogged down in the small stuff. You should probably sand your boards ends, I didn't. And as I said before, it would have been much easier to stain the boards first....but I never seem to choose prepared or easy :)

Good luck and Happy Gardening for years to come!!