Easy Going Gazpacho

There's no such thing as too many heirloom tomatoes, but when you find yourself with a few extras, stir up this fresh, bread-free gazpacho. Don't worry about the exact quanties, this recipe gives you the basic idea.

Easy Going Gazpacho
6-8 servings

5 medium heirloom tomatoes (Marvel Stripe make a beautiful soup!)
1 stalk celery, peeled and diced
1 hot house cucumber, diced
¼ red onion, finely diced
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon sea salt

1. Put your food processor and a large non-metal bowl side by side near your cutting board. (What makes this soup special is the combination of puréed veggies with a few finely diced, chunky ones.) Dice your tomatoes and other veggies, tossing the rough cut ones (and the funky little slivers of tomato you get up near the stem) in the processor and about a tomato's worth of nicely diced tomato and 1 tablespoon each of red onion and cucumber in the non-metal bowl. Run the food processor then pour the purée over the reserved diced veggies in the non-metal bowl.

2. Stir in the vinegar, olive oil, lemon juice and salt. Taste and adjust seasoning as you like. Enjoy!

Amy's Kitchen Coach Tips

• This soup is the most delicious on the day it is made, but it will keep refrigerated for a couple days.
• You can mix and match any kind of tomatoes, as long as they are flavorful. Add any stray cherry tomatoes that you have.
• Serve with sliced or diced avocado for a real treat.

Chocolate Sour Cream Cupcakes

I finally got serious about home baked chocolate cupcakes and tried the recipe from Meg Ray that ran in Food & Wine a couple years ago (and lived in my files until now). Look no more if you want a really chocolatey, really moist, really rich chocolate cupcake. Scrumptious!
Even the tough guys like them ...


Chocolate Sour Cream Cupcakes
makes 16 cupcakes
original recipe used crème fraîche, but sour cream works great

14 tablespoons (1 stick + 6 tablespoons) unsalted organic butter, softened
1 cup organic cane sugar
3 cage free large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

¾ cup organic sour cream, room temperature

1 cup plus 3 tablespoons unbleached wheat flour
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin pan with paper baking cups. Cream together the butter and sugar in the work bowl of a standing mixer. Add the eggs one at a time, thoroughly incorporating each before adding the next. Add the vanilla.

2. In a separate bowl, whisk flour and leavening to combine. At low speed, add half the dry ingredients to the butter and egg mixture, mix to combine. Add half the sour cream, then repeat with remaining dry ingredients and sour cream, mixing to combine after each addition.

3. Scoop batter into prepared muffin cups, filling each cup 2/3 full. Bake for 15 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool slightly, then remove from pan and let cool completely on a cooling rack. Dip cupcake tops into chocolate glaze and decorate with pearl sugar, a flake or two of fleur de sel, dragées, what have you.

Chocolate Glaze
thank you Dorie Greenspan!

3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted
2 tablespoons unsalted organic butter, cut into 8 pieces
1 tablespoon organic powdered sugar

Melt chocolate in a bowl set over simmering water. When completely melted, remove bowl from water and let sit 5 minutes. Slowly whisk butter pieces and powdered sugar into the melted chocolate until you have a smooth consistency.

Quinoa Bean Brunch Slices

These quinoa slices are terrific for a brunch or potluck -- they can be served warm or at room temperature and provide a tasty, healthful complement to the salads and usual fare. Stash the loaf in the refrigerator (it keeps great for several days) and warm a slice or two for a quick lunch or dinner -- especially delicious with a little topping of avocado, sour cream and a spritz of lemon.

Quinoa Bean Brunch Slices
10 slices
inspired by Clotilde Dusoulier's Gâteau de Quinoa, Champignons & Bacon from Chocolate & Zucchini

1 shallot, finely diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cups cooked quinoa
3 eggs
¼ cup heavy cream
1 15 ounce can organic black beans, rinsed with water or 2 cups home cooked beans
¼ cup diced pickled red peppers or roasted red peppers
2 tablespoons finely minced flat leaf parsley leaves
2 tablespoons finely mined basil leaves
½ teaspoon sea salt
a few grinds black pepper
a couple shakes of cayenne pepper

Toppings: avocado slices, squeeze of lemon juice, sour cream, salad greens dressed with tangy vinaigrette

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a loaf pan by buttering the short sides. Drape a sheet of parchment paper (cut to fit) into the pan, leaving a few inches to overhang each of the long sides.

2. Heat olive oil in small frying pan then add shallot and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.

3. Crack eggs into a medium sized bowl and whisk together with cream. Add quinoa, black beans, diced red pepper, parsley, basil and seasonings. Stir gently to combine and pour into prepared pan and bake 20 – 25 minutes, until top has a golden crust and a knife inserted into the middle comes out clean. Let cool 10 minutes then remove from pan. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Amy's Kitchen Coach Tips

• Make ahead note: You can make loaf a day ahead of when you want to serve it, just wrap and refrigerate. Reheat for 10 minutes in 350 degree oven.

• Prepare quinoa the easy way. Rinse with water to remove the saponin, a natural coating on quinoa grains. Cook in a rice cooker, just as you would rice. The ratio of quinoa to water is 1:2.
  
  
• Try the base recipe (shallot, quinoa, eggs, cream) with different combinations of accent ingredients (the black beans and peppers used here).

Summer Minestrone

What's for dinner? Combine some of your farmers market finds in a simple but flavorful soup and make dinner with a beautiful bread, some "salty pig parts" (got that one from the Boccolone people up at the Ferry Plaza) and perhaps a little cheese...ahhh. Isn't that more satisfying than the usual take out? Get in the kitchen, have fun and enjoy the outcome!

Summer Minestrone
8 servings

3 ounces pancetta (3 round slices), chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped or 1 leek, chopped
2 organic carrots, peeled then sliced into circles
½ teaspoon garlic puree
1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 14.5 ounce can organic diced tomatoes, liquid drained off
2 cups water
1 32 ounce box organic chicken broth
2 zucchini, quartered lengthwise then diced
2 yellow summer squash, quartered lengthwise then diced
1 bunch chard, stems removed and diced, leaves roughly chopped
1 large Yukon Gold potato, peeled then diced
1 tablespoon oregano leaves, minced (or 1 teaspoon dried oregano)
1 – 2 teaspoons sea salt, to taste
a few grinds black pepper
½ cup uncooked pasta, small fun shape (I like Rustichella Anellino “O”s)

1. Cook the pancetta in a large soup pot over medium heat about 5 minutes, do not brown.

2. Add olive oil to the pancetta, then garlic, carrots and onion (or leek). Cook about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 1 tablespoon tomato paste and stir.

3. Add drained tomatoes, water, chicken stock, zucchini and other squash, chard stems and potato. Simmer 15 minutes over medium low heat. Add chard leaves, oregano, salt and pepper and pasta. Simmer 10 more minutes.

Amy's Kitchen Coach Tips

• Try keeping a tube of tomato paste in your refrigerator. You can use a tablespoon or so then easily store the rest for later -- unlike those pesky 4 ounce cans. I like using Amore brand.
• The Boccalone Salame Pepato (peppered salame) is fantastic -- great anytime you want salame, but try it as an accompaniment with cooked white beans and kale for an easy dinner. This salame is very moist and tasty with restrained seasoning. When you start with quality ingredients, like these guys, you don't need to kill it with garlic and spices.
• Acme bread, of course.
• Since this post is becoming a Ferry Plaza plug, Cowgirl Creamery for cheese.
• And the vanilla cupcake with apricot buttercream at Miette is yummy!
  

Barley & Oat Chocolate Chip Minis

Crisp, lacy caramelization spotted with chocolate chips...yum. Does it get any better than chocolate chip cookie? Yep. Cut the flour down a bit and add some oat bran and you've got the magic. The size is also key. Cut a log of dough into approximate 1 inch slices, then quarter each of those, "slice and bake style", and you end up with perfect mini cookies.

Barley & Oat Chocolate Chip Minis
makes about 100 mini cookies
Note: you need to chill this dough at least 1 hour, preferably longer (ideally overnight), before baking.

1 cup unsalted organic butter
3/4 cup organic sucanat
3/4 cup organic brown sugar

2 cage free eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

1 3/4 cups oat flour
1 cup barley flour
1/2 cup oat bran

1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda

8 ounces (approximately 1 cup) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips

1. Mix the usual cookie way: cream butter and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla. In separate bowl, whisk flours, oat bran and leavening -- this step is important with oat flour, as it tends to clump. Add flour mixture to creamed butter and sugar mixture, mix to combine. Stir in chocolate chips.

2. Get out your plastic wrap. Aim to make about 3 logs with your dough. The dough is somewhat loose, so when you put some on the plastic wrap use the plastic to help you squeeze and roll the dough into a 10-12 inches long, couple inch in diameter, log. (It doesn't have to be exact, you're just getting yourself set up for easy "slice and bake" later.) Transfer dough logs into the refrigerator.

3. When you want to bake the cookies, preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet pan with a silpat liner or with a sheet of baking parchment paper. Unwrap chilled dough log and slice every inch or so, then quarter each slice to make small dough pieces. Put the dough pieces on the lined sheet pan, approximately 20 per pan. (Put remaining dough back in the refrigerator until its turn to bake.)

4. Bake for 6 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned. Let cool on sheet pan for 5 minutes, then move cookies to a cooling rack.