Cantaloupe and Lemon Verbena

Lemon verbena is a tender perennial that flourishes in Southern California. Its lemony-scented leaves are great in tea and sprinkled over salads and desserts. You can also dry them and put them in sachets to lightly scent your clothes or linens. I have not done this, although our lemon verbena plant is big enough that I could make many sachets with it.

It has grown to 5 feet in all directions, and has draped itself over and through a trellis fence. Rambling through its branches are a gloriosa lily, a tomatillo, a rose-scented geranium, and a serrano pepper plant.

The other day I braved the jungle to pick a few lemon-scented leaves that I sliced and scattered over fresh cantaloupe. It was a great combination - the verbena tasted peppery when combined with the sweetness of the cantaloupe. Yum.

Gloriosa lily clambering through the lemon verbena

Fried Eggs and Potatoes

On Sundays we usually have a leisurely brunch with the Sunday papers. Yesterday, however, I wanted to eat a quick meal before getting out to dig in the garden. I had plans.

So I made these simple fried potatoes with eggs. The potatoes mopped up the egg yolks, and the meal fortified me for a good day of work.

Fried Eggs and Potatoes
3/4 lb potatoes
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp caraway seeds
1/2 tsp tumeric
4 eggs
2 oz feta
sriracha or other hot sauce
1 tbsp cilantro

Scrub the potatoes, cover with cold water and a sprinkle of salt, and bring to a boil over medium heat.  Put the lid on and let them simmer until tender, about 10 minutes depending on the size of the potatoes. Drain and let cool until you can touch them.

Dice the potatoes into 1/2" pieces. Warm the olive oil in a skillet, and add the potatoes, caraway and turmeric. Cook the potatoes, stirring occasionally, until they start to brown.

Turn the heat to low, move the potatoes to the edges of the pan, and crack the 4 eggs into the center. Sprinkle the feta and a drizzle of hot sauce over the top. Cover the pan and cook 5-8 minutes until the whites are cooked. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.

Serves 2

Sunday Shopping

Today at the Hollywood Farmers Market was a stand selling pecans in the shell. I asked the person at the stall if they were grown with chemicals, and he said no, they are old trees the family has been farming for 3 generations, so although they aren't certified organic, they are grown naturally.

Good enough for me. I love buying whole nuts and taking them home to hammer.

Also, Jorge had some baby figs - fully ripe and slightly dry. They will be great in granola.

Here's a list of the organic produce we brought home this week: 1 red sails lettuce, 2 red butter lettuce, 1 red onion, 1 yellow onions, 6 corn, cilantro, cherry tomatoes, 2 orange peppers, 1 green pepper, 1 1/2 cups cremini mushrooms, asparagus, baby figs, 2 grapefruit, scallions, 3 small plain yogurt, 4 limes, almond butter, eggs, 5 pink lady apples, feta, black olives, goat cheese

Grilled Eggplant Salad

I know summer is the season of barbecuing, but I actually prefer to use my grill pan. I take an electric hot plate out on the patio, put my cast iron grill pan on it, and turn out great dishes like this eggplant salad.

Feel free to barbecue the eggplant if you prefer (especially if the barbecue is lit for another reason).

The greens on top of the eggplant are a combination of spicy arugula and lemony sorrel. If you can't find either, use more basil and mint and parsley. The idea is to have a fresh zesty contrast to the soft eggplant and salty feta.

I adapted the recipe from Jeanne Kelley's decidedly non-vegetarian book, Blue Eggs and Yellow Tomatoes. (Warning - there's at least one dead animal picture in it.) However, the vegetable flavors she puts together are really good.

Grilled Eggplant Salad
1/2 lb eggplant
olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 small clove garlic
1 tsp cumin seeds, toasted
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup arugula
3/4 cup sorrel
1 cup mixed basil, parsley and cilantro
1 oz feta

Wash the eggplant, slice off each end and discard. Slice the rest into 1/2 inch thick circles. Brush them with oil and grill about 5 minutes per side until browned and tender. Remove from heat to a platter, and let cool to room temperature.

Whisk together the lemon, garlic, cumin and olive oil. Drizzle half over the cooled eggplant.

Add the greens to the remaining dressing and toss well. Put the greens on the eggplant, and scatter crumbled feta over the top.

Serves 2-3

Stuffed Peppers

These are not the stuffed peppers I grew up with - green bell peppers stuffed with seasoned rice and tomato sauce and baked until the peppers were wrinkled.

These peppers are loosely mounded with corn, tomatoes and herbs, topped with a little cheese, and then baked 15 minutes or so in the toaster oven until warmed through.

They make a nice light summer supper, especially with a green salad on the side.

You can use any pepper for stuffing. I used an Italian gourmet pepper I grew. It was a little sweet and held its shape when it cooked.

Stuffed Peppers
2 tsp olive oil
2 spring onions, sliced
1 poblano pepper, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup corn (defrosted frozen is fine)
1/4 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 green pepper to stuff
2 tbsp firehouse Mike cheddar (optional)

Warm the olive oil in a skillet and sauté the onion and poblano pepper until softened. Stir in the corn and cherry tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper.

Slice the pepper you'll be stuffing in half. Take out the seeds. Pile the filling on each half. (There will probably be too much, so mound it high.) Sprinkle the optional cheese on top.

Bake at 350°F for 10-15 minutes until the cheese is melted and the tomatoes are warmed through.

Serves 2 as a side dish.

Sunday Shopping

If you ever see organic Gaviota strawberries for sale, buy them. They taste like strawberry jam - rich and dark and sweet and full of flavor.

Harry's Berries, which has finally gone organic, was selling these gems today, and I bought a three-pack. We will gorge on these all week, because it's a short window that they will be available.

As if that wasn't awesome enough, Finley Farms had the first organic corn of the season. Wow. This week is going to be delicious.

Here's what we bought: 2 tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, 1 pomelo, parsley, 2 onions, 2 eggplant, 2 zucchini, red lettuce, celery, 6 ears of corn, 8 tangelos, pistachios, 1 large and 4 small plain St. Benoit yogurt, Korean melon, Israeli melon, cantaloupe, radicchio, 5 pink lady apples, gaviota strawberries, and 2 lbs hull-less barley from Koda farms.

Homegrown fruit

For many years, I have attempted to grow cantaloupes. I buy a seedling, plant it, and cross my fingers. Usually they die because I don't water them enough. Last year, I tried growing one up a trellis next to some cucumber plants, and a critter came through and dug the cantaloupe plant up by its roots.

This year, I tempted fate again. I started cantaloupes from seeds, planted them out in a new bed I carved out of the lawn, and hoped for the best.

And we have cantaloupes!!!!

We ate one for breakfast the other day, combined with our homegrown blueberries. What a great combination.

Almost ripe!

Lemongrass Tofu

We have a flourishing lemongrass plant. It's six feet tall and spreading - a beautiful arching grass with the downside of razor-sharp leaves. It's in the back of a bed where I don't have to get too close to it unless I'm harvesting.

It seems silly not to use it, however, so I'm always on the look-out for recipes that use a stalk of it. If you don't grow lemongrass, you can find it in summer at the Hollywood Farmers Market and at Asian groceries. You'll get the stalk but not the leaves, which means you won't end up all scratched up like I do when I'm hacking a stalk off my plant.

This is a recipe from The Voluptuous Vegan by Myra Kornfield. I find vegan cooks use a lot of apple juice, which is not something I keep in the house. I don't like to drink it and I rarely cook with it. However, some time in the last few months I bought a jar of organic apple juice, used the 1/2 cup or so called for in a recipe, and then froze the rest in 1/2 cup containers. So when I saw this recipe using both lemongrass and a small amount of apple juice, I had to give it a try.

Lemongrass is stringy - at least mine is, maybe because I don't water it very much - and when I tried to pulverize it in the blender it stayed stringy. I used it anyway, and we picked the strings off the tofu before eating it, but you might want to use a food processor for that part instead of a blender.

The flavor of this tofu is excellent. I cooked it in the toaster oven so as not to warm up the kitchen, and it made a great meal with grilled eggplant and brown rice.

Lemongrass Tofu
12 oz packet firm tofu
1 stalk lemongrass, leaves removed and discarded
3 cloves garlic
1 inch ginger root, peeled
1/4 cup apple juice
2 tbsp maple syrup
1/4 cup tamari
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup oil
2 serrano peppers, sliced
1/2 cup cilantro

Press tofu 30 minutes. I put it on a plate, rested another plate on top, and put a jar of barley on top for weight.

Peel off any really tough layers of lemongrass stalk. Chop it and put it in a food processor with the garlic and ginger. Process until finely chopped.

Whisk together apple juice, maple syrup, tamari, lemon juice and oil. Add lemongrass mixture.

Place slab of tofu on its side and cut into 3 thin slices lengthwise. Cut each rectangle into 4 triangles. Place in a single layer in a shallow (2 inches) casserole dish. Pour the marinade over top. Sprinkle with chives and cilantro. Let marinate at least 30 minutes, turning the tofu at least once.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Pour off excess marinade so it reaches only halfway up the tofu. Bake uncovered 40-45 minutes until the tofu is golden and most of the marinade is absorbed.

Serves 2-3

Marinating the tofu

Sunday Shopping

It's a good thing that I have farmers to grow my food for me, because if I depended on my vegetable patch I would go hungry.

My 3 eggplant plants produced 2 eggplants, and then decided to take a break. Fortunately Finley Farms has me covered, because after all, what is summer without those gorgeous purple globes? And my cilantro - well, two leaves are not enough to do anything with.

Here's what we will be eating this week, thanks to the organic farmers at the Hollywood Farmers Market:

green pepper, spring onions, red potatoes, red onion, carrots, dinosaur kale, limes, corn, cilantro, watermelon, oranges, plain yogurt, eggs, pink lady apples, la lorgna plums, princess star peaches, green beans, eggplant, asparagus, Israeli melon, cantaloupe, flame raisins

Carrot Salad

On these warm days, it's nice to have a variety of salads to pique the appetite at dinner time.

The other day I blanched some carrots, tossed them in a simple vinaigrette, and let them cool to room temperature. They had a little heat, a little zest, and made a nice addition to a simple meal.

Carrot Salad
6 oz carrots, peeled
1 1/2 tsp cumin seed
1/2 tsp coriander seeds
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp sriracha or other hot sauce
1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
1 tbsp chopped fresh mint
4 green olives, pitted and sliced

Blanch the carrots for 4 minutes in boiling salted water. Drain.

Toast the cumin and coriander seeds in a cast iron pan over medium heat. When aromatic, remove from heat and grind in a spice grinder.

Whisk the ground seeds, olive oil, red wine vinegar and hot sauce together. Stir in the garlic and carrots. Toss the carrots to coat, then let cool.

Just before serving, add the mint and green olives.

Serves 2

Simple Spiced Spinach

Finley Farms had some great bloomsbury spinach on Sunday, so I bought some to make this spicy spinach dish. It's a great side with bean dishes, and once the spinach is washed it's quick to make.

Remember, cooking greens in a little oil breaks down the cellular fibers so the nutrients are more readily available to the body.

Simple Spiced Spinach
1/2 lb spinach
1 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
zest and juice of 1/2 lemon

Wash the spinach and remove any tough stems.

Warm the oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and cumin seeds and let heat a minute until aromatic. Add the spinach, turn up the heat, and toss the spinach in the oil. Add the lemon zest and juice, toss some more, and cook the spinach until wilted. Grind some black pepper on top, season with salt to taste, and serve.

Serves 2

Sunday Shopping

The first really good stone fruit and tomatoes have arrived at the Hollywood Farmers Market. And melons. There really is nothing as delicious as summer produce. Here's what we'll be eating this week:

2 zucchini, 3 avocadoes, strawberries, 2 garlic, 4 shallots, walnuts, lettuce, spinach, 4 pink lady apples, 1 onion, 11 small red potatoes, 4 tomatoes, 4 nectarines, 1 cantaloupe, 1 radicchio, 2 dozen eggs, butter lettuce, red sails lettuce, 10 oranges, 2 grapefruit, 3 mountain-grown peaches

Warm Lentil Salad

Lentils cook quickly, making them a good protein source on these warm summer evenings. The other night I tossed them while still warm into a garlicky vinaigrette with fresh herbs. Some toasted walnuts added texture, as did a roasted red pepper that I pulled from the freezer - the last of my stash, but fortunately pepper season is here again. A fresh red pepper would also be nice in the salad, adding crunch and color.

Serve the lentils with a green salad for a light supper that will tempt the jaded summer palate. Leftovers are good served cold.

Warm Lentil Salad
1 cup brown lentils
1 shallot, chopped fine
1 clove garlic, chopped fine
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tbsp dijon
1 tsp oregano, chopped
1 tsp tarragon, chopped
1 tbsp chives, chopped
1 tbsp parsley, chopped
4 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup walnuts, toasted
1 red pepper, roasted, peeled, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup red onion, thinly sliced

Cook lentils in lots of lightly salted water until tender but not mushy, about 45 minutes.

Stir together shallot, garlic, white wine vinegar, dijon and herbs. Whisk in olive oil.

Drain the lentils and put in a bowl with the walnuts, red pepper and onion. Pour the vinaigrette over top and stir gently to combine.

Serve warm.

Serves 4

Spicy Bean Salad

This week I don't want to be inside in the kitchen. I'd rather be outside enjoying the flowers and birds and summer light. So the other day I put a hotplate on the patio table and cooked some Christmas lima beans while I puttered in the garden, close enough to keep an eye on the pot but not tethered to the stove.

When the beans were cooked, I drained them, then used the hot plate to fry up some onion and spices. These went into the beans along with some lime juice, herbs, corn and tomatoes to make a colorful warm bean salad.

We ate this slightly spicy summery dish outside on the patio - it's the best place to be on these long summer evenings.

Christmas limas are large meaty red and white beans. You could use kidney beans or cannellini beans instead, or even chickpeas. If you're using canned, drain 2 14-oz cans of beans and rinse them well. Start the recipe at the second step.

Spicy Bean Salad
2/3 cup dried Christmas lima beans
2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tbsp ginger root, finely chopped
1 tbsp curry powder
1 1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp chopped fresh thyme
1/4 cup rice vinegar
juice of 2 limes
1 1/2 tsp roasted sesame oil
12 oz packet frozen corn, thawed
1/2 cup slivered red onion
4 tomatoes, seeded and chopped

Cook the beans in plenty of boiling water until tender, 90-120 minutes depending on the age of the beans. When they are tender but not mushy (take one and cut through it - it should be cooked all the way through), drain them and set aside.

Warm the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook the onion, garlic and ginger root until the onion is translucent, stirring occasionally. Add the curry powder and turmeric and cook 1-2 minutes until fragrant.

Add the beans, thyme, vinegar, lime juice and sesame oil. Stir to combine, then cook until all is heated through.

In a large bowl, combine the thawed corn, red onion, and tomatoes. Stir in the contents of the skillet.

Serves 6

Sunday Shopping

The newsstand on Cahuenga near Hollywood Blvd. has reopened - new ownership, new paint job, new lay-out, new cashier. Sadly, the old grittiness and colorful characters have gone.

Fortunately, we see our share of characters and grit as we stroll through the Hollywood Farmers Market. This morning set a record for self-talking, crazy-looking rough sleepers shambling among the stalls.

The stone fruit and melons were fragrant, the greens vibrant, and Tutti Frutti had the first organic corn on the cob of the season.

We came home weighted down with awesome food. Here's what we bought:

5 pink lady apples, 3 grapefruit, 3 clementines, parsley, 2 onions, 3 ears of corn, 10 small red potatoes, 2 bunches spring onions, cherry tomatoes, red sails lettuce, red butter lettuce, ginger root, 5 early girl tomatoes, 1 bunch asparagus, arugula, 3 small haas avocados, 4 purple plums, 1 green plum (emerald something), 4 nectarines, 1 peach, 1 dozen eggs, 1 white melon (I forget the variety), 1 muskmelon, strawberries, 4 blenheim apricots, 2 gi-normous artichokes, 2 lbs mixed mushrooms (cremini, wood ear and shiitake), 1 quart plain St. Benoit yogurt, 25 oranges (yes this made a gallon of o.j. and we still have some left over, but 5 for $1! I couldn't resist.)

The wood ear mushrooms are on the left

Spicy Greens

The other day I picked collard greens and the first jalapeño of the year from our garden, and combined them with the leaves of young beets and turnips from the Hollywood Farmers Market for a nutritious and yummy side dish.

Cooking greens breaks down some of the fiber in their cell walls so we can more easily absorb the bone-boosting nutrients. I suppose chewing would do the same thing, but who wants to chew as much as a cow or a rabbit? Twenty times seems to be my max, even though the theory is we should chew each mouthful 30 times minimum.

So I eat cooked greens a few times a week to give my bones the nutrients they need in a form that is easy for my body to absorb.

Here's what I did the other night:

Spicy Greens
1 jalapeño, seeded and diced
1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
8 cups greens, washed and torn in bite-sized pieces

In a large pot, combine 1 1/2 cups water, the jalapeño, garlic and olive oil. Bring to a boil, add the greens, stir well. Cover the pot and cook the greens until they are tender, usually about 7-8 minutes, depending on your greens. Lift the greens out with a slotted spoon if necessary. Any liquid left in the pan can be added to soup or the chef can drink it as an extra yummy boost of nutrition.

Serves 2-3

Annual Dirty Dozen List

The Environmental Working Group has again published its lists of the U.S.-available non-organic produce with the most pesticide residue (Dirty Dozen) and with minimal pesticide residue (Clean Fifteen).

They report that 2/3 of the produce samples in recent government tests had pesticide residues. In light of research into pesticides and the brain - not a good combination - it's worth the effort to find food grown organically, especially if you're buying the produce listed below in the Dirty Dozen.

Organic produce has no pesticide residue because it is grown without the use of chemical pesticides or fertilizers.

I'd like to point out that they're measuring pesticide residue on the parts of the plant we eat, not the amount of pesticides applied to the plant as it grows in the ground. All pesticides are harmful to the eco-systems of the earth. That doesn't mean they should never be used, but that farmers should use them as a last resort; just like we should take care of our own intestinal flora and not poison it with antibiotics unless absolutely necessary. We keep our immune systems strong so our bodies can ward off viruses. Keeping the soil microbially healthy helps the plants we eat grow strong and vigorous.

I emphasize, however, that it is always better to eat fresh fruit and vegetables - organic or non-organic -  than fast food or prepared food, or anything containing additives, preservatives or flavorings. Human bodies prefer food to chemicals.

Dirty Dozen: (don't eat unless organic)
apples
strawberries
grapes
celery
peaches
sweet bell peppers
imported nectarines
cucumbers
cherry tomatoes
imported snap peas
potatoes
hot peppers
kale and collard greens

Clean Fifteen: (minimal pesticide residue if non-organic)
avocados
sweet corn (although it could be genetically modified)
pineapples
cabbage
frozen peas
onions
asparagus
mangoes
papayas
kiwi
eggplant
grapefruit
cantaloupe
cauliflower
sweet potatoes

Get the handy shopping guide from EWG, and donate money to support their excellent work, at their website.

Shopping for the Week

There was minimal marine layer this morning, and the fruit and vegetables at the Hollywood Farmers Market glowed in the early morning (well, 8 a.m.) sun. Everything looked even more beautiful and appetizing than usual. Larry took lots of photos, and I used them to update the Hollywood Farmers Market slideshow on the right side of this blog.

With considerable restraint, I limited our purchasing of this gorgeous produce to what we can actually eat in one week. Here's what we brought home:

spring onions

1/2 lb cremini mushrooms

2 bunches tiny carrots

16 small red potatoes

3 grapefruit

1 pomelo

red butter lettuce

collards

eggs

2 zucchini

asparagus

wax beans

strawberries

tarragon

cilantro

1 quart and 3 cups plain yogurt from St. Benoit Dairy

smoked jack cheese from Springhill Dairy

1 lb Mixteca coffee from Cafecito Organico

Spaghetti Squash with Rapini

I know, now you're thinking I'm really crazy. Who the heck would serve the twin weirdnesses of spaghetti squash and rapini together, in one dish? Well, I did it, and Larry actually enjoyed it.

The key, once again, is garlic.

I served this dish with browned asparagus the other night, a combination that intrigued the taste buds and made for an enjoyable meal.

If you don't have rapini, use arugula or beet greens or even kale. Just make sure to cook the greens until they're soft, so they make a nice contrast to the al dente spaghetti squash strands.

Because it's just the two of us, I buy very small spaghetti squashes when I see them. They fit in the toaster oven easily, and cook in about half an hour. If you have a larger spaghetti squash, adjust the timing accordingly. I recently read that spaghetti squash cooks well in the slow cooker - taking 5-6 hours. I haven't tried that yet, but maybe in the heat of summer that will be a good way to get my spaghetti squash fix.

Spaghetti Squash with Rapini
1 small spaghetti squash
1 bunch rapini
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil

Wash the spaghetti squash with non-toxic, fragrance-free dish soap and bake it at 375°F until tender, 30-60 minutes depending on the size of the squash. Squeeze it gently to see if it's done. Let it cool a little, then cut it in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds and guts, and then fork the strands of flesh out into a bowl.

Wash the rapini and cut off the toughest stems. Stack the leaves in a pile and cut them crosswise in rough 1" pieces.

Warm the garlic in the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When it smells good, add the rapini, toss well with salt and pepper, and let it cook until soft.

Stir in the spaghetti squash strands, and let cook until warmed through, about 5 minutes.

Serve immediately.

Serves 2-4 depending on the size of your spaghetti squash

Skillet Asparagus

Asparagus, like most vegetables, is especially succulent when roasted. The slight charring accentuates the flavor.

I often cook asparagus on a cookie sheet in the toaster oven, but the other day I didn't feel like that much heat in the kitchen, so I turned to my trusty cast iron fry pan instead.

Best asparagus ever!

Skillet Asparagus
1 tbsp butter
1 bunch asparagus (about 3/4 lb)
salt and pepper

Wash the asparagus and break off the tough bottom sections. Dry it by rolling it in a clean cotton kitchen towel.

Select a cast iron skillet that will hold all the asparagus in a single layer and that you can cover with a lid. Warm it over medium heat. Add the butter and let it melt. Place the asparagus in the skillet in one layer. Cover and cook until tender-crisp, about 5-7 minutes depending on the size and age of your asparagus.

Remove the cover, raise the heat a little, and keep cooking, shaking the pan occasionally, until the asparagus is lightly browned, another 3-4 minutes.

Serve immediately. Serves 2.