Quinoa Patties with Poached Eggs

My prediction of no cooking came true during this recent 4-day heat wave in Minneapolis. I ate lots of radish, snap pea, and tuna salads drizzled with raspberry vinegar. Tonight is a different story because although the heat is still here (upper 80's today), we have no more wicked humidity (a curly-haired girl's worst enemy).

So I'm ready to use the stove again, and decided to throw together these Quinoa Patties with Poached Eggs from random things I scrounged from the fridge/freezer. This recipe was originally included in Heidi Swanson's (of the 101 Cookbooks blog) book Super Natural Every Day. I think a million bloggers have made their version of it, but this is my favorite photo of it.

I now understand why this has been such a popular recipe. It's quick, easy, infinitely adaptable to what you like or have available, healthy and satisfying, and it's beautiful and elegant.

I used quinoa I had cooked and frozen a few weeks ago, also frozen bread crumbs, garlic, parmesan cheese, scallions, chives, and hot sauce. You can mix and match pretty much any ingredient here (even substituting rice or another grain for the quinoa) and the recipe is quite forgiving.

Quinoa Patties with Poached Eggs, adapted from Heidi Swanson

2 cups cooked quinoa or rice

1 cup breadcrumbs

2 eggs, beaten

3 scallions, chopped

1 Tbsp chives, chopped

1 clove garlic, finely minced

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

salt and pepper to taste

hot sauce (Cholula) to taste

poached eggs

Mix all ingredients together until it's moist and the right consistency for making patties. I got 4 big patties out of this batch.

In a skillet, heat a bit of olive oil. Cook patties about 3-4 minutes on each side over medium-high heat. It's OK to use a spatula to press down to get more yummy brown bits on the patties.

Serve with a healthy drizzle of hot sauce, top with a poached egg, and give a final seasoning of salt, pepper, and chives.

ONE YEAR AGO: Refrigerator Pickles

TWO YEARS AGO: Collard Wrap

Raspberry Vinegar

If the forecasters are right, there won't be a whole lot of cooked food coming out of my kitchen in the next week. With estimated heat indexes up to 110 degrees, I'll be living off cool foods like green and lean smoothies and gazpacho.

Oh yeah, and raspberries. Lots and lots of raspberries, which continue to ripen in my backyard each day at a rate that I can barely keep up with. I eat giant portions of them with yogurt every morning, and give them away to neighbors and co-workers, and I still have tubs of them in the fridge. I do plan on making another batch of freezer jam this year, which will use up a whole bunch. And I like freezing lots of these pretty red berries for enjoyment later in the year when a tiny package of them are $5 or more at the grocery store.

This raspberry vinegar is another great way to preserve that fresh summery tart berry flavor. Also, I know I've mentioned it before, but I love vinegar intensely. Seems a good pairing.

The recipe is idiot-proof. Except I'm kind of an idiot and went into a panic when I didn't have enough white wine vinegar so I substituted regular distilled white vinegar and sugar and thought I ruined the batch. I tasted it and nearly choked to death on the fumes. Not to worry, after a night in the fridge, this vinegar mellows but retains it's tartness and tastes exactly like a fresh sweet summer raspberry. And, it's stunningly, beautifully, shockingly bright fuchsia.

I loved this vinegar and wanted to drink it straight up, but settled for mixing it with some olive oil (1 part vinegar to 2 parts oil) and pouring it atop mixed greens with feta, toasted slivered almonds, and more raspberries. Stay cool out there Minneapolis.

Raspberry Vinegar, inspired by The Kitchn

Recipe Note: You should really just do 2 cups white wine vinegar with 1 cup mashed raspberries. It's easiest. But this is how I did it.

1 1/2 cups white wine vinegar

1 1/2 cups regular distilled white vinegar

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar (ruins the color a bit but I love the flavor with raspberries)

2 Tbsp sugar

1 cup mashed raspberries (or any other fruit of your choice)

Heat everything in a medium saucepan over medium heat on a stove and mash berries with a potato masher or back of a spoon. Simmer for 15 minutes. Strain out seeds. Chill at least overnight before using.

ONE YEAR AGO: Asian Noodle Salad

TWO YEARS AGO: Carrot Salad

Grilled Corn and Tomato Salad

Oh to be a Minnesotan in the summer is a wonderful thing! I love almost everything about summer in MN: the sun, the heat, wearing sundresses and flip flops, flowers, weekend art fairs and festivals, the LAKES (!), eating al fresco, walking and biking, fresh fruits and vegetables, and I could go on and on. The two things I could do without are mosquitoes and cutting the grass.

If I sound happy, it's because I am. I have just returned from the most blissful 2 weeks at a lake cabin in central Minnesota. I realize the rare privilege it is to be able to do this every year with my family. And believe me, I make the most of it and do not take one second for granted.

Before I left, I had a couple of dear friends over for a goodbye dinner. I made a zucchini carpaccio (beautiful but kind of bland), barbecue shrimp over quinoa (okay but slightly overcooked), herbed goat cheese with crostini (always a hit), and greek yogurt lemon mousse (I love this stuff).

But, the undisputed star of the night was this grilled corn and tomato salad. It was so good and simple, I made it again at the lake to more positive reviews. The sweetness of the corn with the tartness of the lime juice is such a great flavor combination. Leftovers are killer on a taco salad or burrito, as an homage to Chipotle's corn salsa.

Grilled Corn and Tomato Salad

Serves 6 as a side dish

5 ears sweet corn, shucked

1/2 red onion, sliced into thick rounds

1 pint grape tomatoes, halved or quartered

4 Tbsp butter, preferably room temperature

juice of 1 lime

1 big handful chopped cilantro

salt and pepper to taste

In one bowl, add your tomatoes, butter, lime juice, and cilantro.

Heat your outdoor gas or charcoal grill, indoor grill pan, or broiler. Brush or spray corn and onion slices with oil and grill until charred all over. Carefully cut the kernels from the cobs and chop the onion. Add hot kernels and onion to tomato/butter mixture (this will melt your butter if you didn't soften it first).

Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.

ONE YEAR AGO: Grilled Pizza - I made this again at the lake this year and it was even better! I found a ridiculously simple no-rise pizza dough recipe, making a double batch and substituting 1/3 wheat flour, 2/3 AP and I froze the doughs. They were delicious.

TWO YEARS AGO: Quinoa Salad with Tahini Dressing

Strawberry Crostata

Recently I've been reflecting on patience. Or, more accurately, my lack of it. I don't like waiting, waiting, waiting, and yet I feel like that's all I've done lately. Waiting for work stuff to get figured out, waiting for Cassandra to visit, waiting for my vacation to begin.

Then I come home to my kitchen and recognize I have impatience there also. I ignore steps to recipes that seem too complicated. I rarely take the time to let butter come to room temperature before creaming with sugar. I despise working with yeast and having to let it rise for hours.

So if you are impatient like me and you need a quick and easy early summer dessert, this strawberry crostata is for you. It's supposed to be rustic, so make it free-form and no worries if the dough rips. That just adds to the charm.

The homemade dough comes together in 30 seconds if you have a food processor, then a mere 30 minutes of chilling in the fridge while your oven preheats. You have to work quickly and impatiently so that the butter in the dough stays cold while you work - that's the key to a flaky crust.

My strawberries were picked from the backyard of very good friends, the Jones family. They're so tiny and ripe that no slicing was necessary and only the faintest hint of sugar was needed. If you have some cream cheese on hand, a layer of that under the strawberries wouldn't be a bad thing here.

With a big scoop of whipped cream, this is a knockout summer dessert (and breakfast) that's not too sweet but still indulgent. The best part is that it requires no patience whatsoever.

Strawberry Crostata, inspired by Ina Garten

Serves 4

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 Tbsp sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

3 Tbsp ice water

2 cups strawberries

2 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp cornstarch

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1 egg white, beaten

more sugar for dusting

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.

In a food processor, pulse together the flour, sugar, and salt. Add the cold butter and pulse 15 times. Turn on the processor and dump in the ice water. Process until the dough comes together. Form dough into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

In a medium bowl, toss your berries with sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice.

Roll out your dough on a floured piece of parchment paper. It should get about 6-8 inches in diameter. Transfer dough to a baking sheet.

Drain and discard any liquid from your berries and dump them in the center of the dough. Fold up all the edges and crimp them. Brush the top of the dough with egg white and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake for 25 minutes, or until golden brown. The strawberry liquid will ooze out, there's no way to prevent it so don't panic. Enjoy a slice of crostata warm or at room temperature with whipped cream or ice cream.

ONE YEAR AGO: Pan Bagnat

TWO YEARS AGO: Sugar Snap Pea and Radish Salad

Buttermilk Ranch Dressing

This week, aren't you just craving crunchy, cool salads? I am. And I don't mean the kind of salad I usually make, which is spinach or other baby greens topped with seeds or nuts, craisins, and parmesan. No, that's too elegant and fancy of a salad for what I've been wanting lately.

I want an everyday workhorse retro salad today. I think they're called Chef's Salads in restaurants. I like that title because it seems to mean that as my own chef, I can put whatever I want on my salad. So, I've decided I want crunchy lettuce like iceberg or romaine, and plain un-fancy vegetables like carrots, tomatoes, and cucumbers. Instead of cheese I'll use avocado, and for my protein I'll have hard boiled eggs. Yum.

Ninety-nine percent of the time, I'm a balsamic vinaigrette dressing type of girl. However, it would feel just wrong to put that kind of dressing on this salad - like wearing stilettos and diamonds with yoga pants and a tank top. This salad needs a complementary retro-style dressing such as bleu cheese or thousand island. Or, what I made tonight: the Midwest's most popular condiment - ranch dressing.

I don't know if this is actually a traditional ranch dressing (what, exactly, makes it "ranch" anyways?) but it tasted similar and was a lot better for me than the junk that's served at restaurants, which is probably filled with chemicals and additives.

Also, this gave me an excuse to use the first of my potted herbs, which are sprouting up beautifully after copious amounts of sunshine and rain in the past couple weeks. And finally, it's a great way to use up any buttermilk you have in your fridge leftover from a big batch of banana waffles.

Buttermilk Ranch Dressing

1 cup buttermilk, well shaken

1/4 cup mayo

1/4 cup plain greek yogurt (if you don't have greek style yogurt, strain regular yogurt through a coffee filter for 30 minutes - or use plain yogurt and just have a runnier dressing)

2 Tbsp white wine vinegar or lemon juice

A big handful of mixed fresh herbs (I used chives, basil, parsley)

1 tsp dried dill

pinch of salt and pepper

Whisk all ingredients in a bowl or shake in a mason jar. Use as a dip for vegetables or as a salad dressing.

ONE YEAR AGO: Mini Frittatas

TWO YEARS AGO: Homemade Yogurt

Creamed Leeks, Two Ways

This time of year is difficult for me to be creative and inventive in the kitchen. On one hand, the changing seasons make me crave new tastes and textures. On the other hand, here in Minnesota there's no fresh local produce yet and there's too much temptation to go out and socialize instead of staying home to cook. So, I guess I'm trying to explain why the posts are lighter lately and hope you understand.

Spring leeks are mild and sweet and I read somewhere that's because they spend the whole winter in the frozen ground. I love the delicate flavor of leeks and wanted to highlight that in this spring dinner so I paired leeks with cream and peas and used that as a base for grilled salmon.

This is dead simple and so yummy. You can make this with your eyes closed and your guests will be amazed at how elegant you are!

I had a ton of creamed leeks leftover so I made a bonus round 2 recipe: Creamed Leek Pasta. Add the creamed leeks to cooked whole wheat spaghetti, add a cup of starchy pasta cooking liquid and a cup of grated parmesan cheese. Awesome.

Creamed Leeks

5 leeks, white and light green parts only

1 cup frozen green peas, optional

2 Tbsp olive oil, 1 Tbsp butter (or any combination of the two)

1/2 cup heavy cream

salt and pepper to taste

squirt of fresh lemon juice, optional

Recipe Note: Leeks are the only vegetable I know of that you cut first and clean second, because of the dirt that grows into the layers. To clean, remove the tough dark green ends and the hairy root end. Slice the long way in half, then cut into half moons. Add the cut leeks to a big bowl of cold water and swish to release the dirt, which should sink to the bottom. Scoop out the leeks and shake or pat them dry before adding them to your skillet.

In a large skillet over medium heat, add your butter and/or olive oil. When it's hot, add your cleaned leeks and some salt and pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes or until leeks are softened. Add cream and peas and cook another 5 minutes or so until cream slightly thickens. Taste and add more salt or pepper if needed.

Serve under fish or chicken, or with pasta and parmesan cheese. Or just eat a bowl of it like this. Really, you can't go wrong.

ONE YEAR AGO: Tofu McNuggets

TWO YEARS AGO: Green Bean and Tuna Salad

Peanut Butter Hummus

Every now and then I get sick of myself and this blog and think it's time to pack it in. Then motivation comes from the strangest places. My awesome friend Ashley told me today over a lovely lunch that her dad made Chocomole and made everyone in the family taste it! I'm not sure it was a total home run with everyone, but I was so happy to hear about it. And it totally renewed my blogging energy.

So in the same vein as Chocomole, I present to you Peanut Butter Hummus. I wanted to merge the name like Chocomole, and like they do with trendy celebrity couples, but someone and his wife thought Peanummus sounded way too dirty for my blog (say it out loud a few times and you'll understand).

Peanut Butter Hummus is delicious. It's a lighter, fluffier, healthier version of peanut butter. You can and should bring a big bowl to work and eat with apple slices for breakfast or a snack (or both). You could fold in a handful of raisins and dip celery sticks into it. You could even eat it with a spoon like I did when the apples ran out.

Peanut Butter Hummus, adapted from Nourishing Flourishing

Recipe note: I didn't have a sweet potato on hand the first time I made this. I added it for the second batch as you can see in the photos and I didn't notice a huge improvement or change in taste or texture, so I'm listing it as optional. Be your own chef and try different variations until it's to your taste.

1 can or pint cooked or canned garbanzo beans, drained

1/3 cup peanut butter, any kind

1/4 cup cooked sweet potato or canned pumpkin, optional

up to 5-6 pitted dates (or approx 1/4 cup maple syrup or honey)

2 tsp vanilla

water, up to 1/4 cup or so

In a food processor, dump your beans, peanut butter, a bit of sweetener (3 dates or 3 Tbsp honey or maple syrup), and the vanilla. Blend. It will probably look really thick and dry.

Add water, 1 Tbsp at a time, until it's a smooth dipable consistency. Taste and add more dates or honey or maple syrup until it's sweet enough for you.

Serve with raisins, apples, celery, or anything else that sounds good.

ONE YEAR AGO: Guiltless Caesar Salad Dressing

TWO YEARS AGO: Roasted Tomato and Mushroom Sandwich with Goat Cheese