Persian Cucumber and Tomato Salad

Ugh, the heat and humidity continues. That's an Iowa summer for you. I am not a fan of this miserable weather at all, but vegetable gardens, and farmers, love it. The farmers markets are starting to grow bigger by the week as some of the early summer vegetables and fruits are coming into season. I still have not been to our big downtown farmers market but I hope to soon. Instead I trudged off to the grocery store, the air conditioned grocery store, and stocked up on delicious things to cook.

The Chef is off working today, and that means I have the house, and kitchen, all to myself. It's time for music. My music, whatever I want. Of course, metal, anything metal- death metal, speed metal, hair metal, is my first love. Megadeth rules my heart with Avenged Sevenfold a close second. Black Label Society and Metallica inspire many a singalong in the car when they are played on satellite radio. I'll even perk up and get excited when Ratt, Slaughter, Motley, Scorpions and a handful of other 80s greats come up. However, when The Chef is away that's when I break out the other two loves in my music heart- Lady Gaga and Amy Winehouse. Don't laugh. Both of these women have left a permanent mark on music and the world, Gaga with her diverse musical ability and always changing style, and Amy Winehouse with her soulful sultry voice and sad story. 

Today I was feeling a little meh so Amy filled that need for me. I just put her on and let it play while I did my thing- put all the groceries away, prepped vegetables for Persian salad and later made a quick dinner. Amy's haunting voice tells a story of deep rooted pain and I love her so much it's as if I actually knew her. Every song tells a story, whether it's of heartbreak or heartfelt love. She is definitely an unusual addition to my metal-heavy music collection but sometimes I just need her, I just need to hear her voice. I miss her terribly and wonder what might have been had she not been taken from us so young. 

But enough of that sad stuff. Today is also all about the fresh vegetables. Like I said, it's HOT and when it's hot, I just don't want to do a lot of cooking, and salad becomes our go-to dinner choice.  I came across this recipe while looking for healthier options for lunches and so on. This salad is quite an enigma. At first glance, I thought jeez, this is not going to have that much flavor. There are no herbs, no spices. I couldn't have been more wrong! The unusual addition of preserved lemon is the secret. As I sat there munching on my little bowl of salad I kept thinking the lemon is oddly umami and savory and so satisfying. I did not miss the herbs at all. You'll also notice there is no added salt- you do NOT need it. The lemon is preserved in salt, so it adds all the saltiness you need. I minced it up super tiny and much of it broken down in the simple dressing. If there ever was a recipe that was vastly improved by the use of preserved lemon, it must be this one. You get loads of flavor for almost no calories at all. 

Preserved lemon can be found in many larger supermarkets or gourmet stores, but if you plan ahead, you can make it yourself easily. It stores in the fridge for a long time. Click HERE for my recipe for preserved lemons.

When using preserved lemons, you scrape off and discard the
soft inside pulp and use just the peel. The amount of flavor
packed in that lemon peel is ridiculous!! You have to try it.

This recipe also features Sinful Food Garlic Olive Oil. I love fresh garlic, but in a salad, raw garlic is just not your friend. This olive oil is exactly what I needed to add garlic flavor without the harshness of raw garlic. You can get your Sinful Food oils by clicking HERE.

Persian Cucumber and Tomato Salad

adapted from Eating Well Magazine

3 cups diced unpeeled cucumber

1 1/2 cups assorted cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered

1/4 cup diced onion

2 teaspoons minced preserved lemon

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 tablespoons  Sinful Food garlic olive oil

ground black pepper

Toss all ingredients together in a bowl. Cover and allow to rest at room temperature up to two hours to all flavors to develop. Refrigerate after serving.

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Culinary Homeschooling- Eggs, Cheese and Principles of Cooking

As I get further into my first culinary school textbook, I'm finding all sorts of interesting things I didn't know, and a fair share of things I did. For example, I did know this, so here is a clever little bit of trivia in case you didn't- the white part of the egg is actually called the albumen. 

The section on cheese was very very detailed. Step by step instructions for making homemade mozzarella was a big highlight for me, and something I really want to try. This chapter talked about how all cheese are made- by adding enzymes to mammal milk. The typical enzyme is rennet, which comes from the belly of calves- a fact I did not necessarily want to know.

Say CHEESE !!!

Did You Know?  Did you know that traditionally mozzarella cheese is made using buffalo milk? It's kind of funny that foodie types seem to think they are really eating a gourmet specialty if they find "boofalo mootzarell" when it should always be that way!

After filling my brain with cheese facts, I started the next big section- Part 3-Principles of Cooking. The fun is really starting now. I learned right off that, my previous thinking- that cooking is an art- is not really true. Actually cooking is not an art, as much as it is a science. I learned about the molecular changes in different foods when heat is applied, and about the different methods of heat transfer: conduction, convection, radiation and induction. The section also breaks down and explains all the methods of cooking we are all familiar with: broiling, roasting, steaming, boiling, and so on.

Chapter 10- Stocks and Sauces was a great chapter for me. Stocks and sauces are the bread and butter of the kitchen- master these and you can make almost anything. I am a longtime stockmaker and always have bags of bones in the freezer waiting for enough to roast and make a batch or two of rich, flavorful stock. This chapter walked me through the steps to making perfect stock, which I already knew, but it was still fun to see if I was missing anything. I'm NOT a perfect gravy-maker so I learned a lot from this chapter and hope I will become better at making gravies.

This chapter also introduces us to the mirepoix. The flavor foundation for all stocks, soups and sauces, the mirepoix is a must-have for all levels of cooking. This classic combination of onion, celery and carrots you will see used in soups, stews, casseroles, stocks and more.

Did you know? Did you know the proper name for vegetable stock is court bouillon? There are many kinds of veggie stocks out there but this is the mainstay, and is mostly used to poach or simmer other foods in.

Finishing out the chapter are the sauces- the History of Sauce, dating back to ancient Rome to today, and The Mother Sauces- Bechamel, Veloute, Espagnole, Tomato, and Hollandaise, and loads of variations with recipes. Lots of practice in saucemaking going on with this chapter. We start off learning all about making a roux (mastered that one long ago), as well as using cornstarch and other methods of thickening. 

Of all the chapters I have read so far, this was the most educational for me. Sure the earlier part of the book had history and some basic terminology I had not heard before, but seeing the techniques in actual recipes like all the sauce recipes was a huge bonus for me.

Up next in the book: soups. Perfect timing, as winter is winding down finally. After that we'll be cooking meat- time to dust off the grill!