63: Roasted Kohlrabi

Chopped up the kohlrabi and tossed in olive oil and salt. It was less of a roast and more of a low sautee while working on other projects. Nothing fancy as I stumbled upon it at the bottom of my veggie crisper, on its way out, begging to be used. Cooked until soft, added a bit of pepper once it was on the plate.

It was a nice change from raw. There was a slight comforting sweetness. Not sure what to compare it to. 

Notes for Improvement: look for a recipe next time. 

62: Zucchini Fritters

I might have to start doing this in lieu of bread for breakfast. 

I sleep with the AC on- not blasting, but present and essential. This morning I opened my bedroom door and lo, it was actually comfortable in the living room. I wasn't shellacked in sweat in the time it takes to walk from my bedroom to the bathroom.

So what I do? Make something that requires turning on my oven. Yay! I used and followed this recipe from smitten kitchen. I recommend you do the same.

Didn't change anything, and took her suggestion of over easy eggs to go with it. Cooked those up in some of my basil butter.

Nommy! Runny yolks make everything better.

Notes for Improvement:
- Basil butter was good but I think I had too much on the plate, distracted a bit from the zucchini.
- Work on those over easy egg skills- one was lovely, the second went over. Sadface.

60 & 61: Pickle Party

Had a little pickle party for myself last week. Wanted to let them sit and, well, pickle for aabout a week before trying. The first and third are the same recipe from Etsy, the middle is from Smitten Kitchen.

The results!

I'm not in love with either, honestly. There's something off about the snap peas- I'm not sure what it is- there's a weird flavor memory I can't place. Maybe it's the fact I used regular vinegar. 

The zucchini was a little more successful- but the spices are a little too aggressive.

Notes for Improvement: I'm not sure how to fix these, or what exactly I don't like about them. The best thing I can think of is to try a completely different recipe and see if I like that more. Or just redo the zucchini and tone it down a bit?

59: Cool Barley Cucumber Salad with a Dilly Yogurt Dressing

Really good for a day like today. Not sure I can take too much more of this heat.

This cool barley salad is based on a Bittman recipe. Very few adjustments though.

I used hulled barley instead of pearled. Cooked up a decent sized batch of that last night and used a little more than two cups for this. The cucumber was one of my marketmore slicing cucumbers, and I did the de-seed and salt thing. I used a little less lemon juice and olive oil than he called for, and a little less dill, only because I ran out.

On the one hand I'm proud at myself for not stopping at the farmer's market on my morning bike ride- there was no way I would've made it out of there with just mint. But, you know, would've been nice. Regardless, super tasty salad. Looking forward to how it holds up as leftovers!

Oh! And I used a little less of the dressing than the recipe called for. Wanted a yogurt snack.

I'm enjoying using yogurt in dressings and sauces. It's something I hadn't tried before, and I feel so much better with it than if I'd used mayo or sour cream or something. I guess it pairs well with the herbs I've been getting.

Notes for Improvement: Try it with a little mint :)

58: Dilly Roasted Carrots

Simple simple. Peel and cut your carrots on the bias. Toss with a little olive oil and salt. Grill or heat in a pan on the stovetop (covered) until they get a little color. Turn over and do the same on the other side. As soon as they come out, toss with a little dill (minced), pepper, salt and lemon juice to taste.

Notes for Improvement: a little more browning would've been nice. Otherwise super delicious though.

Also- you may have noticed- getting rid of the dish/sauce/whatever labels. Just numbers.

56 & 57: Currant Jam and Curd

I'm probably insane. Need a reason? Despite the crazy heat wave, I spent several hours in front of the stove. Making and canning ONE HALF PINT JAR of currant jam. Then a little later making (not canning) currant curd...which does require one to stand at the stove and stir for a decent chunk of time. Also simmered some barley for yet another recipe, which takes about an hour. And sauteed some kohlrabi. Lotsa heat. Lotsa crazy.

I started by placing all of my currents (meager amount, about two cups) with a little water in the bottom of the pan. Cooked until they popped, then mashed a bit and ran them through a mesh strainer. I withheld 1/3 cup of the juice for the curd, then weighed the rest of the juice and added about 80% by weight sugar (actually, weighed out the sugar then put about that much honey in. It was a weird method I'm not sure is correct, but I got the right consistency so I don't mind). Put that back on the burner then simmered/boiled until it passed the nudge test.

Apologies for not defining terms. I'm not going to get into canning basics today, but Food in Jars is an amazing resource.

Then filled my jar (could've used like two tablespoons more to get the ideal headspace, I'll try not to sweat it) and processed in a water bath for 10 minutes. The seal seems to be holding, but as I won't use it for a few months, I won't know for sure how it turned out. I honestly have too many jars from this winter I still need to work through. The leftovers in the pot were delicious though.

That lovely 1/3 cup of juice I withheld was used in a curd scaled from this recipe (the reason I had sooo many eggwhites for breakfast). I wanted about a cup, ended up with a cup and a half. No worries. It will get eaten.

I've made curd before- meyer lemon- so I was prepared for how much of a process it is. Definitely have everything ready to go when you start, as you need to stand there and stir it). This turned out well consistency-wise, but I was hoping for more of the tartness of the currant to come through. I needed more juice. That would help with the pepto color this guy's got going on, too.

Notes for Improvement:
- Don't use a towel in the bottom of the pot for canning again, it just gets all wonky. Maybe one of those 4th burner pots would be helpful? Not that I need more kitchen stuff, but still...
- Get some shortbread for that curd. It's the best combination.

Dish 55: Cucumber Sandwiches

So I went a little crazy with these. Excuses to buy cheese and nommy bread. It's presumably based on the standard cucumber tea sandwiches, though I used this as my guide.

The bread is rye from Black Rooster. It's not widely distributed but it's AMAZING. A little dense, so slice it thin. It's wonderfully fruity and complex. I got lost at Fairway in Kips Bay looking for it, bought both varieties (one plain, one with dried fruit and nuts) and plan on freezing most of it for later consumption. That was the plan, we'll see how fast I eat it. I'm like halfway through two days in. Whoops.

Cucumbers are either Boothby Blonde or Poona Kheera- not sure. Sliced them up with Sweetness. Giving my knife skills some practice.

Cheese...well I tried three varieties of cheese (left to right): Brie, Blue, and Tallegio. Blue was by far the best, the Talleg came in a distant second. Brie a close third to that.

I also cut up a little dill, which helped with the weaker cheeses but was largely unnecessary. Do I need to explain how to assemble? Thin rye, a little cheese, a cucumber. Face. Rich cheeses are not the best choice for a hot day tho.

Notes for Improvement: I wasn't terribly blown away by the sandwich to be honest, doubt I'll make it again. The blue cheese went really well with the rye though, but as I said it's a little too hot.