Susiej

I’m looking through Photoshop, for its pictorial memories of summer. This year’s pictures are more about people and their stories too personal to share. One image that I love is that of my friend, who simply “mothered” me all summer — whenever I needed some care. On one hot afternoon, three families parked piled into two boats in the middle of the lake to swim.

When we ran out of “supplies” and we’d all run to shore for a pit stop — bathroom breaks, drinks and snacks — chips were all we wanted. Those 8 of us who boarded her boat (her husband’s boat) got a bit more than just a few snacks. Before we even stepped foot inside of her kitchen, she was already pulling turkey and cheese out of the fridge making “turkey benders.” Turkey and cheese on bread, folded over. (If you’re bigger, you get a double bender — two slices of bread.)

In what seemed like less than 30 seconds, eight of us were filling our empty stomachs wtih sandwiches. “How can she always be so girl-scout ready,” I often wonder. My picky kids, gobbled them up without saying a word. I liked her “swoop” method of feeding kids… just make it fast and put it in front of their face before they have a chance to say no.

I miss you.

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Cover one flour tortia shell with chunks of mozzarella and a  few chunks of crumbled feta cheese.

Add a layer of a sliced fresh-off-the-vine tomato.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper

Place under broiler in oven for 5 minutes.

Take pizza from oven, and cover with fresh herbs, a bit more salt, and, this is the most important part –  a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.

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The bottles arrived via UPS on a mundane Wednesday afternoon. UPS trucks rarely come by in this neck of the woods, so that alone was the equivalent of sitting in traffic in the city and watching a mule parade by. The kids had to call me out to “sign” for the package. “Alcohol,” the guy in brown said. “Really?” I said. “That’s usually the only reason they ask for a signature.” I signed and noted he didn’t even ask me for ID.

The cardboard flaps were peeled back, and out popped two glistening bottles of sparkling wine, with gold-foil labels, from a winery in California, Chandon. “What is my husband up to now?” I wondered. A text from him simply said, “Oh, you got them?”

What to serve with those glistening bottles? Flowers, of course, but what could I do to mix it up? Never mind the fact that in spite of how delicious and rich this meal is, the combination of the sugar in the champagne, and the richness of the cheese sent my stomach in a surprising tizzy. This meal was, and still is, one of the most amazing meals I have ever cooked — and probably eaten. I gathered some fresh zucchini blossoms from the garden, with the baby zucchini still attached. I found only four blossoms, and knew that wouldn’t be enough. To round things out, I added some Day Lilies to the mix.

I soaked the flowers in cold salt water to get rid of the ants and dirt.

Meanwhile, I mixed

• A cup of ricotta cheese
• ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• One egg
• Handful of chopped basil
• One minced garlic clove

In another bowl, I mixed a cup of flour with just enough soda water to make the flour frothy and runny.

Then, I carefully opened the flowers, and spooned the cheese mixture inside the flower, and twisted the ends shut to hold the mixture. Next, I dipped the stuffed flowers into the flour water, and laid each blossom in a hot skillet, already coated with olive oil. I fried until crispy on one side, and then flipped, and crisped them up on the other side.

N0w, if only I could get my stomach strong enough to try the combination again… because this was a meal I truly enjoyed cooking and eating.

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The nasturtium flowers are not quite blooming yet, so I haven’t fried them. I’m trying to give the zucchinis a chance to flourish before I start snatching the flowers – so we’re frying the Daylilies while we wait for the rest of summer’s bloom.

Yes. I mean those Daylilies. Those ordinary blossoms on tall spiky green stems that are growing in abundance in your yard.

A friend told me about Daylily soup a few years ago, which I never made. But, nevertheless, I Goggled edible flowers, and sure enough, those Daylilies growing in abundance are certainly edible – and they are delicious. Not as peppery as the nasturtiums… but a definite distinct yummy flavor… you’ll have to try it for yourself.

Dipping those big blooms in flour and putting them on a hot skillet is so exotic – it’s so much fun/weird to do. My 12-year-old always takes over in the kitchen when I’m frying up a batch. He’s a patient chef… working slowly to make sure the ants are all gone, (sprinkle blooms with salt before washing) making sure the egg/milk mixture has a chance to dip into the middle of the flower,

and carefully twisting the bloom so that salted flour coats the petals on all sides.

Most importantly, he understands the importance of a dry skillet — just enough olive oil to crisp them – but not a deep fry.

And, he stands guard watching them carefully and knows just when to flip them over with a fork to crisp up the other side.

Everyday nature brings us another batch of day lilies—hence the name. Try frying them, just for fun.

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When you put together the simple ingredients for this crumble, you’ll think, “Ho hum…nothing special about this, but a great way to serve up this week’s bountiful supply of berries.”

Then, when you take your first bite, you’ll check to see if maybe a little elfin showed up in your kitchen, when you weren’t looking, and added some caramel, or vanilla, or … something.  You’ll check the ingredients again on the recipe, and you’ll scratch your head, trying to remember if you didn’t add anything else than the required amount of flour, oats and sugar. Maybe it was brown sugar you added instead?

Something happens when you cook this crumble. Under heat, the butter seems to transform the simple ingredients into a caramelized bite of heaven. It’s like having an extra bit of angelic help in the kitchen. And who, among us, doesn’t need that kind of help.

Here’s the recipe for the world’s greatest crumble:

• 1 3/4 cup of flour
• 1 1/2 cups of sugar
• 1 teaspoon sea salts
• 1 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes.
• 1 cup rolled oats

1. Preheat at 375 degrees F.
2. Mix flour, sugar and slat with a fork.
3. Using a fork, or pastry cutter, cut butter into flour mixture until it resembles coarse bread crumbs.
4. Add oats, stirring them into the mixture.

Filling

• 4 pints of berries
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup of flour

• In separate bowl, combine fruit sugar and flour.
• Spread filling into a 9 x 13 inch baking dish.
• Using your fingers, press topping into large clumps and scatter over fruit.
• Bake until fruit is bubbly and topping is golden brown — about one hour.

I might just make this whenever I feel like I need a little extra help around the house — the presence of the caramelized flavor may just lead me to believe, I have some.

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I call this a restorative meal because of the nutrients in the broth and mushrooms; but primarily because it requires so little of my time and effort — and it uses up the leftovers! The formula is simple; simply pull out the leftover meat and veggies you have already your fridge, Always start with your base of olive oil and onions, and combine them with some nutritious dehydrated mushrooms for an extra punch of flavor and nutrients. (Keep those mushrooms in your pantry for nights like these.)

With the week we’ve had, soup is a great meal to help my spirit slow down, and keep it in-sync with our schedule. The schedule is slowing down, but has yet come to its peaceful grinding halt that I expect will happen on June 10, when school is officially over.  Each day of mini-mall resulted in a sell-out, requiring us to make more puppy chow and flubber hands each night. How much?  Nine boxes of rice chex were magically turned to Puppy Chow each night, and two gallons of glue were turned into flubber and stuffed into gloves each night. My son’s business partner is a kid I love; so is his mom. So, I wouldn’t be quite revealing all the truth if I didn’t admit how much I did enjoy the whole production. It was a week when yoga was done at midnight. The only available slot. Without the stretching, I would be tossing and turning all night anyway.

And today, I’m spending the day at the zoo with a class of kindergartners.

Last night, mini-mall is behind us, and my fridge was full of left-overs from the rotisserie chicken I picked up for dinner at the grocery store one night this week, and cooked asparagus from another night.

Full of nutrients from the broth and mushrooms, this soup recipe has a complex, sophisticated taste. I’m realistically not even expecting the boys to eat this — so, I’ll pulled out pieces of chicken and veggies from the broth and served it to them on a plate, along with a side of lemon-scented rice.

Recipe for the soup:

• Saute onion in olive oil for a couple of minutes.
• Add fresh chopped carrots to the saute.
• While they are simmering, add chopped garlic. Simmer for 1 minute more.
• Optionally, also create a roux by adding flour and milk to make this a creamy soup. (Or do that the second night with any leftover soup from tonight.)
• Add broth.
• Tear chicken off the bone, and add to the pot. (Use whatever protein source you have leftover in your fridge.)
• Throw a palm full of dehydrated mushrooms. (Unfortunately, there were no fresh ones.)
• Chop aspragus and throw into pot. (Use whatever leftover veggies you have sitting in your fridge.)
• Add a block of nastrituim pesto from your freezer to the pot. (Or skip it, or any store-bought pesto.)
• Add salt and pepper to taste, and let pot simmer for 20 minutes.
• Cook a pan full of rice, and season with freshly squeezed lemon and salt. (This is for the boys to eat plain, on the side.)
• Serve.

I added the rice to the bowl, and ladled the soup on top.

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