Summer Succotash with Bacon

Watch me make this on my YouTube Channel

Yield: 4 servings

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3 slices bacon, halved lengthwise and then cut into ¼-inch slices, crosswise

1 large shallot, peeled and diced small (1/2 cup)

5 large garlic cloves, peeled and minced

Kernels cut from 2 ears of fresh corn (approximately 2 cups) or 2 cups frozen corn kernels, thawed

2 cups (frozen) lima beans, thawed

2 medium zucchini or summer squash (3/4 pound), diced small (3 cups)

15 (3-inch) sprigs fresh thyme

1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste

¾ cup white wine (preferably chardonnay)

¼ cup water

¾ pound grape tomatoes, halved

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon sized pieces

3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (juice of 1 large lemon)

20 medium fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped

¼ cup thinly sliced fresh chives, for serving

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Add the bacon to a large sauté pan. Place the sauté pan over medium-low heat. Cook for approximately 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until much of the fat has rendered off, and the bacon is just beginning to get nice and crispy.

Add the shallot and garlic. Stir and cook until the shallot is soft and translucent, approximately 3 minutes.

Add the corn, lima beans, squash, thyme, salt and pepper. Increase heat to medium-high. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are just beginning to caramelize, approximately 5 minutes.

Add the white wine, water, tomatoes and butter. Cook, stirring occasionally, until much of the liquid has evaporated and thickened and the tomatoes are starting to break down, approximately 5 minutes.

Remove from heat, remove the thyme sprigs and stir in the lemon juice and basil.

To serve, divide succotash among shallow bowls. Sprinkle over chives.

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Note: to make vegetarian, simply omit bacon and begin with the (shallot and garlic) second step.

Summer Barbecue Tray Bake

Watch me make this on my YouTube Channel!

Yield: 4 servings

1¾ pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs

1/3 + ¼ cup barbecue sauce

2 & 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt, divided

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided

3 large ears of corn, kernels removed (cobs discarded), approximately 3½ to 4 cups

2 medium zucchini (3/4 pound), diced medium, approximately 2½ to 3 cups

1 pint (3/4 pound) grape tomatoes

20 (3-inch sprigs) fresh thyme

10 large cloves garlic, peeled and minced

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

4-ounces Feta cheese, crumbled, approximately 1 cup

4 tablespoons butter, diced into 16 cubes

1 lemon, very thinly sliced, seeds removed

Set an oven rack to the upper middle position and preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a sheet tray with aluminum foil and then line the sheet tray with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, add the chicken thighs, 1 teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Mix to combine. Add 1/3 cup barbecue sauce and stir to combine. Set aside.

In a large bowl, add the corn kernels, zucchini, tomatoes, thyme, garlic, 1&1/4 teaspoons kosher salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper and olive oil. Stir to combine.

Spread vegetables out evenly on the parchment/aluminum lined sheet tray.

Sprinkle feta over the vegetables. Evenly disperse the butter atop the vegetables followed by the lemon slices.

Place the chicken thighs in the four corners of the sheet tray, with the thickest part of the thighs closest to the edge/corner of the sheet tray. If you have more than 4 thighs, place the thickest portion of any additional thighs closest to the edge of the sheet tray.

Bake for 30 minutes, flipping the chicken thighs after 15 minutes. Remove sheet tray from the oven and spoon or brush on the remaining ¼ cup barbecue sauce on the chicken thighs (side up only). Transfer back to the oven, set oven to broil and broil for 4 to 5 minutes, until tomatoes and lemons blister and the chicken starts to char.

Remove the sheet tray from the oven and serve a spoonful of the lemony feta vegetables into shallow bowls. Top each with a chicken thigh. Serve some extra barbecue sauce on the side to dollop on the chicken.

Note: to make vegetarian, simply sub chicken thighs for extra firm tofu, cut into 1/2-inch slices and follow the recipe as is

Brown Butter Sweet Corn Pancakes

Watch me make this on my YouTube Channel!

Yields: 12 pancakes

Spice Mix:

2 teaspoons kosher salt

½ teaspoon chipotle powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and stir to combine.

 

Pancake Mix:

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted until browned, cooled slightly, plus more for greasing the pan

½ cup low-fat buttermilk

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons adobo sauce (from a can of chipotles in adobo)

½ cup all-purpose flour

½ cup stone-ground whole-grain cornmeal (not coarse)

2 teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 teaspoon spice mix

3 scallions (green onions), very thinly sliced (½ cup)

2 cups fresh corn or thawed frozen corn

 

In a small bowl, whisk together the butter, buttermilk, eggs and adobo sauce.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, salt, pepper and spice mix. Add the liquids from the small bowl into the large bowl. Fold together until just combined. Fold in the scallions and corn with a rubber spatula.

Place a large nonstick pan over medium heat for 1½ minutes.  Add a small amount of butter to pan, just enough to lightly coat. Scoop batter into ¼ cup measure cup. Add the batter to the pan using a spoon to get it out of the measuring cup. Gently press the pancake batter with the back of the spoon to flatten it and form a 3-inch pancake. (Cook 3 to 4 pancakes at a time.) Cook for 2 minutes on each side. Pro tip: start your timer after the last pancake is added to the pan. Repeat until all pancakes are cooked.

Transfer pancakes to a cookie rack until all are made and you are ready to serve.

 

Pancake Topping Options:

Sour Cream

Fresh Cilantro, roughly chopped

Cotija Cheese, crumbled

Avocado, sliced

Green onions, thinly sliced

Spice mix

To serve, place 3 pancakes on a plate. Top with a dollop of sour cream, a sprinkling of the spice mix and all of your favorite toppings.

Sweet Summer Corn Soup

What is summer without corn?! Grilled, sauteed, boiled – it’s all delicious, but one of my all time favorite ways to enjoy corn is corn soup.

This recipe is packed with that sweet corn flavor because everything comes to a boil, including the otherwise discarded cobs. Even when you take all the kernels off, they still hold so much flavor! So, why not use that flavor to your advantage? This recipe is also drought friendly: not only because we use every last inch of that corn on the cob, but also because it’s creamy without using any butter or dairy. The trick? Throwing a potato into the mix to give it extra richness. Oh, and there’s also that dollop of avocado. Mmmm.

 

Creamed Summer Corn Soup with Chopped Cilantro and Avocado Puree

Yield: 6 cups

 

¼ cup grapeseed oil

2 large yellow onions, peeled and diced small (3 cups)

Kosher salt, to taste

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

6 large garlic cloves, peeled and minced (2 tablespoons)

2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh thyme

⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste

4 ears corn, kernels sliced off the cob (2 cups), reserving cobs

1 medium yellow potato, peeled and diced medium (1 cup)

4 cups vegetable stock

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice (juice of 1 large lime)

1/8 teaspoon chipotle powder (or more to taste!)

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro

Avocado puree (recipe below)

 

Heat the grapeseed oil in a small pot over medium heat.

Add the onion, a pinch of salt, and a few grinds of black pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes, until the onions are soft and translucent.

Stir in the garlic, thyme, and red pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, 1 minute.

Add the corn (and their cobs), the diced potato and the stock, then cover. Turn the heat to high and bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat to low and simmer for approximately 30 minutes until the potatoes are cooked through.

Remove from the heat, then remove and discard the corn cobs.

Using an immersion blender, blend continuously until smooth. Add the lime juice, chipotle powder and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve warm and garnish each bowl with a dollop of avocado puree, a good sprinkle of chopped cilantro and a light grind of pepper.

 

Avocado Puree

1 large avocado (9 ounces), flesh scooped out, seed and skin discarded

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice (juice of 1/2 large lime)

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

A few good grinds of black pepper

 

In a small food processor combine the ingredients and puree until smooth.

Drought Friendly Elote: Mexican-style Grilled Corn

OMG. This recipe is so delicious. Need proof? Super Sous and I grilled 7 ears of corn when developing this recipe and devoured them all within 15 minutes. In fact, Super Sous exclaimed, “this is the best grilled corn dish I’ve ever had!” when all was said and gone, I mean done.

Elote or the Mexican-style street food version of corn is common to see here, being sold, in LA. Vendors in parks or on street corners set up camp with their makeshift grills, tub of mayonnaise, chili powder and cojita cheese, serving the sweet and savory cobs to eager customers.  It’s pretty fantastic; a pleasure on the taste buds.

Since Super Sous and I have been creating Drought Friendly Recipes, we realized that we could still enjoy this creamy crunchy corn on the cob, sans egg and cheese by doing a swap out with soymilk aioli (aioli is normally made with an egg, but soymilk acts as an emulsifier) and using a sprinkle of nutritional yeast for the cheesy creaminess. Add to that a special spice mix blend we created (take that, chili powder!) and fresh chopped cilantro and you have a winner.

This recipe serves 12, but you may need to double or triple the batch. Trust us. It’s addictive.

 

Shucked corn with one layer of husk left

Grilled corn

Vegan Aioli

Slathering on the aioli

Time to dig in

Yield: 12 servings

 

12 ears of corn, whole and unshucked

Vegan Aioli (recipe below)

Elote Spice Mix (recipe below)

3 tablespoons nutritional yeast

1 cup packed roughly chopped cilantro

 

Preheat your grill to medium-high.

Shuck the corn, leaving 1 layer of husk covering the cob. Cut off the silk at top of corn.

Place the corn on the grill, close the lid, and grill for a total of 15 minutes, rotating the corn ⅓ turn every 5 minutes, until the corn is cooked and the husks are slightly charred.

Remove the corn from the grill, carefully shuck the corn (hot!). Brush with aioli, sprinkle some of the spice mix and yeast on the corn and top with cilantro.

Serve, enjoy, repeat.

 

Drought Friendly Vegan Aioli

Yield: 1 cup

 

1 large clove garlic, pressed (1/4 teaspoon)

3½ teaspoons lime juice

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

1/3 cup organic soy milk

2/3 cup organic grapeseed oil

 

Mix all ingredients except oil in a small container or bowl with high sides. (I used the glass container that goes with my French Press.

Using an immersion blender, blend all ingredients thoroughly.

Keep the immersion blender a bit raised in the container, to where the liquid is churning vigorously. Slowly stream the oil into the vortex of the churning liquid. Don’t rush this step. The slower the oil stream, the better. The liquid will thicken and form to the consistency of mayonnaise. Refrigerate until use.

 

Elote Spice Mix

1 tablespoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon chipotle powder

1¼ teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ancho chile powder

 

Mix ingredients together in a small bowl.

Pan-Roasted Okra with Fresh Corn and Fire Roasted Tomatoes

Okra is still popping up at the farmers market and, for all my Southern and die hard okra friends, what’s summer without okra and tomatoes?!

Pan-Roasted Okra with Fresh Corn and Fire Roasted Tomatoes

Yield: 2 to 4 servings

 

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

½ pound of okra, cut in half lengthwise

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground fennel

2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic

1 cup fresh corn kernels

1 14.5-ounce can diced fire roasted tomatoes

½ cup water

1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh mint

1½ tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil

1½ teaspoons aged balsamic vinegar

kosher salt, to taste

freshly ground black pepper, to taste

¼ cup plain greek yogurt

 

In a large sauté pan over medium high heat, add the butter. After approximately 30 seconds to 1 minute, the butter will foam up, and then subside. Following that, the butter will begin to turn golden brown. (Yay!)

Once the butter is brown, add the okra and cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the okra starts to caramelize.

Add the cumin, fennel and garlic. Stir and cook until fragrant, 1 minute.

Add the corn. Cook for 1 minute, stirring occasionally. Add the tomatoes and water. Stir occasionally and cook until the liquid begins to thicken, approximately 3 minutes.

Remove from heat and add the thyme, mint, basil and vinegar. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve in bowls with a dollop of Greek yogurt atop each serving.

Playing With Your Food

This week, I’ll be attempting, for the second time, to make sweet corn ice cream.

This came as a request from one of the farmers that I see every week at the Hollywood Farmers Market.  He sells the most deliciously sweet corn and, as it happens, he has quite a sweet tooth.

When he asked me two weeks ago if I would make him some corn ice cream, I happily obliged. (With so much corn in abundance at the local farmers markets, it’s time to loosen the culinary belt and start thinking beyond grilled corn, corn soup and corn salad.)

Now, as I mentioned, this is attempt number two. The first attempt didn’t work out so well. Why? Well, uhhh, I waited a bit too long to make the ice cream and those poor ears of corn that I had most happily received from my farmer friend had, over the week, dehydrated, making the ice cream too starchy. Think licking a slice of raw potato, but sweet. Thus, that batch went straight from the ice cream maker to my mouth to the trash. Sorry, corn. It was me, not you.

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So, I’m back on it again and today is the day – just 2 days after buying the corn and 3 days after it was picked fresh from the field.

So here goes another round.

Sweet corn ice cream with a touch of cinnamon.

Now all I need is a homemade waffle cone and a double shot Latte.