Chilled marinated shrimp and
cool cucumbers work well together as a refreshing light lunch with fresh salad
greens. Skewered with a wooden pick, they become a delicious hors d oeuvre on a
warm summer evening.

Shrimp is first boiled with
a combination of spices that you might expect to find in a pickling mixture.
After just a few minutes of cooking time, the shrimp cools and then spends
several hours in the refrigerator bathing in a sweet and sour marinade.

Having Sweet and Savory
Chilled Shrimp in the refrigerator makes eating healthful a whole lot easier.
Just a few right from the refrigerator provide a quick protein pick-me-up in
the middle of the afternoon. Piled into a bowl along with cucumber chunks, it
is a beautiful edible centerpiece for your friends as they relax and visit with
one another. Resting on a bed of fresh greens and cucumber chunks, it turns
into a light, tasty meal.

Sweet and Savory Chilled
Shrimp

• 1½ teaspoons whole black
  peppercorns
• ½ teaspoon crushed red
  pepper flakes
• ½ teaspoon whole cloves
• ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
• 5 bay leaves, broken into
  small pieces
• 1 lemon
• 1 pound raw shrimp, (26 to
  30 per pound) deveined, peeled, tails intact
• ¼ cup olive oil
• Juice of 2 limes
• 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons limoncello
  (optional)
• 8 fresh basil leaves, cut
  into thin strips (chiffonade)
• Coarse salt and freshly
  ground black pepper to taste
• 4 to 6 ounces English
  cucumber, washed, cut into quarters lengthwise, then each quarter cut into
  thick chunks

Bring 2 quarts of water to a
boil in a large saucepan over high heat. Add peppercorns, red pepper flakes,
cloves, mustard seeds and bay leaves to the boiling water. Squeeze the lemon
juice into the water and drop the squeezed lemon halves into the pan. Add the shrimp and
boil, stirring often, until the shrimp turn pink and float to the top, about 3
minutes. Drain in a colander and rinse under cold water until the shrimp are
cool. Save the lemon halves and as much of the spices as possible.

Whisk the olive oil, lime
juice, vinegar, basil, limoncello, sugar, salt and pepper together in a large
bowl. Add the cooled cooked shrimp, the reserved lemon halves and spices and
toss to coat. Transfer mixture to a large zip-top bag. Seal the bag tightly.
Allow shrimp to marinate in this mixture overnight in the refrigerator.

Just before serving, remove
shrimp from marinade. Place the shrimp in a large bowl with the cucumber chunks
and toss gently. Serve chilled.

• Chiffonade (chef-fon-nahd)
  is to finely slice leafy vegetables or fresh herbs. To make basil chiffonade,
  place clean basil leaves, stems removed, crosswise on a board, stacked on top
  of each other. Roll the stack up like a cigar. With a sharp knife, cut thin
  shreds. The task is much easier when the larger leaves are at the bottom of the
  stack and smaller ones on top before rolling up.
• Limoncello is an Italian liqueur
  that was invented in Sicily
  about 100 years ago. I keep a bottle in the freezer. It’s a refreshing
  after-dinner sipper. Straight from the freezer, it’s colder than ice and explodes
  in your mouth with all the freshness and bright flavor of lemon. It is a nice
  addition to the marinade for this shrimp. Once you try limoncello, you’ll
  discover all kinds of ways to use it. Splash it onto ice cream, mix it into
  pound cake, spike a tall glass of lemonade with it, sprinkle it over a bowl of
  fresh mixed berries, or add just a bit to sugar cookie dough. It is a little
  bit expensive. I’m going to try making my own with vodka and lots of lemon
  zest. I’ll let you know what happens.

• Rice vinegar is made from fermented rice. It has a more delicate, sweeter flavor than regular white vinegar.

These have to be the most delicious pancakes I’ve ever tasted. I’m still dreaming of my Sunday breakfast of light and fluffy pancakes full of hot, juicy blueberries. Slightly crisp around the edges. Oh, they were just perfect. And they were made in my own kitchen.

I watched Tyler Florence make some buttermilk pancakes on the Food Network a week or two ago. He separated the eggs, adding the yolks to the pancake batter and beating the egg whites in a second bowl before folding them into the pancake mixture. It takes just a couple more minutes to add this step, but it is well worth the time. This extra step results in very light and fluffy pancakes that will melt in your mouth.

Enjoy the pancakes with your favorite bacon. I like to lay the slices on an aluminum-foil-lined baking sheet that has been sprayed lightly with cooking spray. I bake the slices in a 375-degree oven until it’s nice and crispy. It might take about 15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the bacon you’re using.

Another great way to enjoy the fresh blueberries of the season

The Best Blueberry Pancakes

• 1¾ cups buttermilk

• 2¼ cups all-purpose flour

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• ½ teaspoon baking soda

• 3 tablespoons sugar

• ½ teaspoon salt

• Grated zest from 1 lemon

• 2 eggs, separated

• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, melted

• 2 cups fresh blueberries

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt. Stir in the lemon zest.

Whisk the egg yolks, melted butter and buttermilk together. Add all at once to the flour mixture and stir until just incorporated. Small lumps will remain. Don’t overmix – it will result in tough pancakes.

Using an electric hand mixer, whip the egg whites in another bowl until stiff but not dry. Gently fold half of  the egg whites into the batter to lighten it, then gently fold in the remaining whites. Gently fold in the blueberries.

Preheat a 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Lightly brush with canola oil. Ladle about ¾ cup of batter into the pan. One large pancake is all that will fit into the pan at one time. Turn pancake when it is puffed and golden brown and bubbles appear all over the top of the pancake. Cook on the other side until pancake is golden and cooked all the way through. Serve hot. Makes about 6 or 7 big pancakes.

Eggs will separate most easily when they are cold. Egg whites will whip up the fluffiest when they are at room temperature.

One of the best midsummer snacks is a handful of fresh
blueberries. Not only do they taste great, but they’re good for you. They’re in
the spotlight a lot these days because of the huge wallop of antioxidants they
offer.

I love stirring a couple of cups of fresh blueberries into
my favorite blueberry muffins. They’re more like a once- or twice-a-summer
treat, though, than a daily breakfast. They have lots of butter and sugar.

A muffin is an easy breakfast on the go. Oatmeal Blueberry
Muffins are much more healthful than my traditional fat-laden melt-in-your-mouth
muffins. They take advantage of the little blue fruit that packs a large dose
of antioxidants. The oatmeal adds whole grain health advantages as well as
fiber. Walnuts add delicious flavor and lots of crunch along with omega-3
essential fatty acids. No butter, just a bit of canola or safflower oil. Maybe
I should call these To Your Health Muffins.

I also used a minimal amount of sugar. I’ve been
experimenting with organic blue agave (ah-GAH-vay) syrup, which I originally
picked up at the local food co-op to add to frozen margaritas. Agave is a
natural sweetener extracted from the heart of the Blue Agave, the same
cactus-like plant used to make tequila. It is a Low Glycemic Index sweetener,
which means it is slowly absorbed into the body, preventing spikes in blood
sugar. It is 1¼ times sweeter than sugar, so you need less. It can be used
anytime you would use table sugar. The organic raw blue agave that I have is
amber-colored. It has the texture of honey but pours more easily than honey. I
added a tablespoon of it to the muffins to give them a little more sweetness. I’ll
continue to experiment with these muffins to replace all the sugar with blue
agave.

Now I can be good to myself with a fresh blueberry muffin
every morning.

Oh, and I must tell you, blue agave is a great addition to frozen margaritas. Would you like my recipe?

Oatmeal Blueberry Muffins

• 1½ cups quick-cooking oats
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon organic raw blue agave *
• 1 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• ¼ cup canola or safflower oil
• 1 cup broken walnuts
• 1 cup fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Combine oats, flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder and salt
in mixing bowl. In a 4-cup glass measure, mix milk, eggs, vanilla, oil and blue
agave. Pour liquid mixture into dry ingredients and stir just until blended. Stir in
walnuts. Gently fold in blueberries. Fill greased muffin tins ¾ full with
batter. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes. Makes 12 to 14 muffins. I
wound up with a dozen muffins and one large one to share that I baked in a
glass custard cup.

* I used Wholesome Sweeteners Organic Raw Blue Agave.

Since they’ve been a great
value at the grocery stores the last couple of weeks, it’s been just the right
time for me to be including blueberries in recipes that I’ve been developing
and testing for my All About Food newspaper column.

My son and daughter-in-law,
who live in Fort Worth, Texas, were here for a few days and they
were eager to be my tasters. Blueberry Cream Cheese Cake didn’t make the food
column, but for everyone who likes cream cheese, this cake will meet their
approval. It doesn’t take long to mix up. You may have all the ingredients in
your kitchen right now. The most time-consuming part of the recipe is cutting
the cream cheese into tiny little chunks. It’s easiest to cut the cream cheese
when it’s cold. If your knife gets sticky, just run it under some warm water. A
lemon-sugar topping is just right on this moist cake.

If you’re having weekend
guests, you may want to have this cake on hand. I must say, it gets better with
age. So, make it today and enjoy it all weekend long. It’s good with a cup of
morning coffee or a glass of iced tea in the middle of the afternoon.

Oh, and by the way, I dug
this recipe out of a file of newspaper clippings I’ve been collecting for years. It was
probably from the St. Paul
newspaper which is what I was reading in the 1960’s. I had written 1964 on the
bottom of the clipping. I’m pretty sure my dad was my taster at that time. Or,
maybe my best friend who lived across the street from me would have wanted to
taste it. She loved cream cheese. Her favorite snack was Frito corn chips which
she would swipe through a brick of cream cheese before each bite. Oh, yes, I
think she would love this cake..

Blueberry Cream Cheese Cake

• ½ cup butter
• 1¼ cups sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¾ cup milk
• ¼ cup water
• 2 cups fresh blueberries
• 1 (8-ounce) package cream
  cheese, cut into little cubes
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• ½ cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons grated lemon
  zest
• 2 tablespoons butter,
  softened

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Beat ½ cup butter at medium
speed of an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add 1¼ cups sugar, beating
well. Add eggs one at a time, beating until blended after each addition.

Combine 2 cups flour, baking
powder and salt. Stir well. Combine milk and water. Stir well. Add flour
mixture to butter mixture alternately with milk mixture, beginning and ending
with flour mixture. Mix at low speed after each addition until mixture is
blended. Gently stir in blueberries and little cream cheese cubes. Pour batter
into a greased 9-inch square pan

Combine ½ cup flour and
remaining 3 ingredients. Stir well with a fork. Sprinkle mixture over batter in
pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 50 to 55 minutes or until cake tests done. Serve
warm or let cool completely on a wire rack. Makes 12 to 16 servings.

I spotted the long, slender,
dark green English cucumbers at the farmers’ market the other day. I know you
can buy them anytime of the year in grocery stores where they are wrapped up as
tight as a bug in a rug in clear plastic. But they just can’t compare to those
picked fresh from the garden.

I love the fact that these
long, thin-skinned cucumbers have far fewer seeds than the traditional chubbier
cukes. Their superior flavor and snappy crunch makes them the perfect choice
for slicing to make cucumber salad — one of my favorites. But last night for
dinner I just sliced them and arranged them on fresh greens. I made a sour
cream dressing with lots of fresh dill and finished it with a sprinkling of
minced red onion. It was so refreshing on a warm summer evening.

The cucumber salad I make
has a sweet-sour dressing made with a base of sour cream, some sugar and a bit
of vinegar and lots of fresh dill weed. So, I basically made the same sour
cream mixture to top the green salads we had with dinner last night.

I didn’t use a recipe, but I
think if you start with ¼ cup sour cream in a bowl and whisk in 1 tablespoon of
vinegar and 2 tablespoons of sugar, it will be a good start. Taste and adjust
the flavor to your liking. Add a couple of tablespoons of minced fresh dill and
stir it into the dressing.

To put the salad together,
arrange fresh greens on each salad plate, lay slices of fresh cucumber over the
greens. Spoon some dressing on each salad and sprinkle with minced red onion. I
garnished each salad with one little blooming sprig of fresh thyme. Very, very cool.

With a couple of over-ripe
bananas on the kitchen counter and some butter pecan ice cream in the freezer,
I decided some ice cream sandwiches would be good. With an inspiration from a
dessert selection on the menu of a Chicago
restaurant, I decided to make some banana bread ice cream sandwiches with
butter pecan ice cream.

I baked up some banana bread
using the recipe I got years ago from my neighbor, Hazel. She always made the
best banana bread and we were the lucky ones she would often share it with. And
finally, she shared her recipe.

I have a 9-inch square
silicone piece that I never use for baking, but it worked well for getting the
ice cream prepared for sandwiches. I lined the silicone square with parchment
paper, leaving some paper hanging over the sides. I spread some softened butter
pecan ice cream in the square, making it about an inch-and-a-half thick. I covered it with
aluminum foil and set it in the freezer.

When I was ready to serve
ice cream sandwiches, I sliced the baked and cooled banana bread so they were
about the same thickness as the ice cream. Using the parchment paper overhang, I pulled the frozen ice cream
slab from the silicone. Using a round cookie cutter, I cut rounds of bread and
ice cream, then sandwiched a round of ice cream between two slices of bread. And
they were ready to eat. A perfect pairing. My kind of sandwich.

Hazel’s Banana Bread

• 1 cup sugar
• ½ cup (1 stick) butter, room
  temperature
• 2 large eggs
• ½ cup whole milk
• 2 very ripe bananas, mashed
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup flour

Cream sugar and butter
together in mixing bowl. Add eggs, milk and bananas and blend well. Sift flour
and baking soda together and add to banana mixture. Stir just until blended.
Spread into lightly greased 9- x5- x3-inch bread pan. (Sometimes, I like to use
on 8½- x 4½- inch pan and one small loaf pan, 3¼-inches. The small one is a
nice little treat to share with someone.) Bake in preheated 350-degree oven for
about 1 hour. Start checking after 50 minutes. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Turn
the loaf out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Wrap and store overnight.

Line a square baking pan or dish
with parchment paper. Spread softened ice cream over paper to a thickness of
about one inch. Cover with aluminum foil and freeze overnight.

To make ice cream
sandwiches, slice bread. Using a round cookie cutter, cut rounds of bread and
ice cream. Sandwich ice cream rounds between
two slices of bread. Serve immediately.

• If you don’t have time to
  use over-ripe bananas, just put them in a zip-top plastic bag and store them in the
  freezer. As they are available, add more bananas to the bag. When you are ready
  to make bread, thaw the bananas on a plate on the kitchen counter until
  softened.
• Use leftover banana bread scraps in a parfait. Cut bread into small chunks. Layer in dessert dishes or parfait glasses with your favorite pudding (how about butterscotch or chocolate?) and refrigerate several hours or overnight. Top with whipped cream before serving. Or layer bread chunks with vanilla pudding or yogurt and fresh strawberries or blueberries. Great for breakfast.

Okay, how about this way with cherries? Place a scoop of White Chocolate Cream (see recipe below posted on July 6th, A shortcake like no other) in a small dessert dish. Drizzle with your favorite chocolate sauce. I used the Mexican Chocolate that I shared on my post of January 6th, Remains of a fiesta brunch. I happened to have some in a jar in my refrigerator. But just use whatever sauce you like best. Scatter some chopped pitted sweet bing cherries over the chocolate. Add one more dab of White Chocolate Cream and plop a whole cherry with the stem right on top. Add a finishing touch of just a drizzle of more chocolate sauce. Who needs ice cream when there’s White Chocolate Cream in the refrigerator?

A breakfast with friends is
a great way to catch up on what everyone’s been up to this summer. It’s a
casual, relaxing way to enjoy one another’s company. And I’m sure a breakfast
for seven on July 7, 2007 will bring good luck to each of us.

I’d been working on a baked
French toast recipe that was full of fresh, sweet cherries. My friends were
willing to give up their Saturday morning to come over to be my taste-testers.
I prepared the dish last night so all I needed to do this morning before my
guests arrived was to make coffee and go outside to pick some fresh flowers for
the breakfast table. While the French toast baked, I cut up some fresh fruit
and mixed up a light, healthful fruit topping with organic vanilla yogurt, honey,
a little grated orange rind and fresh ginger. I also minced up some lemon basil
from my little herb garden and stirred it into the yogurt mixture. It was the
secret ingredient that offered refreshing flavor.

Yesterday morning I measured
the walnuts into a bowl and added water just enough to cover the nuts. I let
them soak on the kitchen counter all day. Soaking them in this way gets rid of
a lot of the thin brown skin on the walnuts that can give them a bitter taste.
It also prevents them from burning as they bake on top of the French toast.
Once the cherries were pitted, I poured orange juice over them and allowed them
to marinate in the refrigerator all day. (A cherry pitter is the tool I use for
the job. If you don’t have one, you can check out my short video for other ways
to remove the pits from cherries. And to remove the cherry stains on your
hands, rub them with some fresh lemon juice.) When I was ready to put the
ingredients all together, I drained the walnuts and the cherries. I saved the
cherry-flavored orange juice marinade and will mix it into my next batch of
bran muffins. When all the ingredients were layered into a 9- x 13-inch glass
baking dish, I covered it and tucked it into the refrigerator for the night.

When baking the dish, be
sure to place a baking sheet on the rack below to catch any drippings that may
bubble out of the juicy mixture.

All around the breakfast
table, Caramel-Topped Cherry French Toast got a thumbs-up. My good luck had already
begun – I was sitting with friends on a sunny northern Minnesota summer morning enjoying cherry
(oops, I mean, cheery) conversation, bright laughter and good eats. Enjoy this
dish soon while the sweet fresh cherries are at their peak.

Caramel-Topped Cherry French
Toast

• 4 cups fresh sweet cherries,
  pitted and cut in half
• 1½ cups orange juice
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• Water
• 1 (1-pound) loaf white
  bread, crusts removed, cut into small cubes
• 1 loaf French bread
• 7 eggs
• 1½ cups whole milk
• 1½ cups half-and-half
• ½ cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ cup (1 stick) butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons dark corn
  syrup

In small bowl, pour orange
juice over cherries to cover. Allow to marinate in refrigerator several hours.

In another bowl, pour enough
water over walnuts to cover. Allow to set for several hours.

When you are ready to
assemble the French toast, lightly grease a 9- x 13-inch glass baking dish.
Place bread cubes in the bottom of the dish. Drain cherries and scatter them
over the bread cubes. Cut ten 1-inch slices of French bread and arrange them in
two rows over the cherries. Beat the eggs well and add milk, half-and-half,
sugar, vanilla, nutmeg and cinnamon. Slowly pour the blended mixture over the layers
in the baking dish.

Drain the walnuts and
discard the liquid. In a small saucepan, melt the butter. Stir in the brown
sugar, corn syrup and walnuts. Mix well. Remove from heat. Spread the topping
on the French bread slices. Cover dish tightly and refrigerate overnight.

In the morning, preheat oven
to 350 degrees. Remove French toast from refrigerator and set out while oven is
preheating. Bake, uncovered, for 50 to 60 minutes. Place a large piece of
aluminum foil gently over the dish during the last 15 minutes of baking to
prevent it from getting too brown. Remove from oven and let set for 10 minutes
before cutting. Makes 10 servings.

Locally grown strawberries are finally appearing at the
farmers market this week. Because the season is so short, I always think I
need to buy huge amounts to enjoy them while I can.

With fresh strawberries in my refrigerator and overripe
bananas on the counter, I decided to combine a couple of my favorite flavors to
make a dessert that I will take to a birthday celebration this evening.

I started by making bananas muffins. The best banana muffins
ever – a recipe my dad developed when he was very young. I don’t ever remember
him actually in the kitchen making these muffins, but he claimed he was the one
who should receive all credit for coming up with the recipe under his own mom’s
tutelage.

I sprinkled some almond-sugar topping on each muffin before
baking. Then I made a white chocolate cream filling that melts in your mouth. I
washed and sliced the strawberries and began building a delicious summer
dessert. Oh, I wish my dad was still around to taste this. He would have loved
it.

My favorite muffin tin is one that my mother-in-law would
use to bake bran muffins many years ago. It has nine cups that are larger than
the traditional 12-cup tin, but not as large as the monster muffin tins they
sell in the stores these days with six cups.

I made a dozen mini-muffins, too, for those who want just a
tiny temptation. I just had one for breakfast. Oh, my, what a great way to
start the day.

Little johnny-jump-ups (violas) make a cute edible garnish
for these shortcakes, which, technically, aren’t shortcakes at all. Typically,
shortcake eaten with strawberries is a large, sweet biscuit. Today, though, my
muffins have become shortcake for strawberry purposes.

Leftover muffins will keep well in the freezer for a couple
of months if they are tightly sealed up in a freezer container.

Enjoy the fresh summer strawberries. Enjoy the moist banana
muffins. Put them together with White Chocolate Cream for a summer shortcake
like no other.

Banana Strawberry Shortcake with White Chocolate Cream

• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup sliced almonds
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1¼ cups sugar
• ½ cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
• 2 very ripe bananas, mashed
• ¼ teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder 

Put 1/3 cup granulated sugar and almonds in bowl of food
processor (a mini-processor works well for this job.) and whirl until almonds
are finely chopped. If you don’t have a food processor, finely chop the almonds
and mix into the sugar. Set aside.

Measure buttermilk in 1-cup glass measure. Stir in baking
soda and set mixture aside.

Cream sugar and butter in mixing bowl. Add mashed bananas,
lemon juice, eggs and buttermilk mixture and blend well.

Gently stir in flour and baking powder just until blended.
Fill greased muffin tins about ¾ full with batter. Sprinkle 1 teaspoonful of
almond sugar over each muffin. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes.
Mini-muffins will not take as long to bake. Makes 1½ to 2 dozen muffins.

While muffins are cooling, make White Chocolate Cream.

White Chocolate Cream

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, room temperature
• 3 ounces white chocolate

•  Fresh strawberries, washed, sliced

Put bowl and beaters for whipping cream into the freezer to
chill well.

Melt white chocolate in a glass bowl placed over a pot of
simmering water, stirring until smooth. Use a double boiler if you have one.
Set bowl aside so chocolate can cool a little bit.

Remove bowl and beaters from freezer. Pour whipping cream
into bowl and beat until soft peaks form. Add vanilla and gradually add sugar
while beating until stiff peaks form.

Use same beaters to beat cream cheese in large bowl until
smooth. Add melted white chocolate and blend well. Use a rubber spatula to gently fold in whipped cream
mixture. Cover and keep refrigerated until ready to use.

Create shortcakes:

For each serving, cut a muffin in half. Place the bottom
half of the muffin on dessert dish, cut side up. Spread a generous amount of
White Chocolate Cream over the cut side of the bottom half. Layer sliced strawberries
over the Cream. Put another dollop of Cream on top of strawberries to help hold
the muffin top in place.

• It’s important to use white chocolate and not the white candy coating that is used for holiday treats. White chocolate will have cocoa butter listed as one of the first ingredients. I used Lindt Swiss Classic White Chocolate which can be found in some grocery stores.

Last Tuesday I received the second delivery from the CSA
(Community Supported Agriculture) that we are enjoying for the second season.
Early in the spring we buy a “share” in a local farm and once a week all summer
long and through the fall, we receive a delivery of fresh produce that was
picked that day. For people like me who don’t really have a green thumb and
don’t have the time to keep up their own vegetable garden, it’s a way to enjoy
high-quality, locally grown produce that has not been sprayed with pesticides or
fed with chemicals and, at the same time, support a local farmer. Last year,
between the CSA deliveries and my weekly purchases at the local farmer’s
market, we ate locally grown produce, bison and chicken for months. And all
without a trace of dirt under my fingernails.

Each delivery brings bags full of surprises – I never know
what I will find. Along with fresh basil, edible flowers, swiss chard, spinach
and leaf lettuce, the last two deliveries have included a variety of radishes.

Radishes are not just for cutting into little tulip shapes
to garnish a bowl of potato salad. Believe it or not, they are delicious
washed, cut into quarters and sautéed in butter with a little garlic and chives
and the rinsed green radish tops. Sprinkled with a little salt and pepper,
you’ll be surprised when you bite into them. Once cooked, their flavor mellows
and they lose their spicy bite.

And don’t toss out the green tops. They can be tossed into
salads or stirred into soups. I wash them, give them a spin in my salad spinner
and store them in a plastic zip-top bag in the refrigerator.

Last week I made some smooth, green soup with the fresh
radish tops. It’s quick to make and can be served warm or cold.

Next time you’re at the farmer’s market, pick up some fresh
radishes and try some new ways to eat them.

Summertime Radish Top Soup

• 6 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup chopped onions
• 8 cups loosely packed radish leaves
• 2 cups diced peeled potatoes
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 2 teaspoons chicken base
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Melt butter in a medium saucepot. Add onions and cook over
medium heat until golden, about 5 minutes. Stir in radish tops, cover pot and
cook until greens are wilted and tender, about 10 minutes.

While greens are cooking, boil potatoes and bay leaf in just
enough water to cover along with ½ teaspoon salt until tender. Measure 2 cups
chicken broth into a 4-cup glass measuring cup. Drain cooking liquid from
potatoes into the cup with the chicken broth to equal 4 cups of liquid. If it’s a little short of 4 cups, just add more water. Stir 2
teaspoons of chicken base into the hot liquid until it is dissolved. Pour the
liquid into the pot of wilted greens. Discard the bay leaf and add the potatoes and cook for 5 minutes.

Transfer soup to blender or food processor and puree until
smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

To serve, you can garnish the soup by drizzling a little
half and half over each serving. Sprinkle with minced radishes or chives. Makes
5 or 6 cups of soup.

• I cooked some Swiss chard along with the radish tops.
• Chicken base can be found in jars near the canned soup in
  the grocery store. Buy the kind that has chicken meat listed as the first
  ingredient. Some will have salt listed as the first ingredient. The opened jar
  should be stored in the refrigerator. You can use chicken base anytime you
  would normally use chicken bouillon cubes.
• Puree soup in two batches and hold the top of the blender
  down tight so that hot liquid doesn’t spray out the top when you turn the
  blender on.