1 cup blackberries
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients and mix thoroughly. Pour into ice cream maker and process until done.

GREEN BEAN AND POTATO SALAD
Serves 12
2 pounds Yukon Gold or other waxy potatoes, scrubbed , quartered if necessary
1 pound green beans, trimmed
1/4 cup chopped summer savory leaves or thyme and mint or other herbs as preferred
Mustard vinaigrette (recipe follows)

In a large kettle simmer potatoes in salted water to cover until tender when pierced with a fork, about 10 minutes, and drain in a large colander.

In a large saucepan cook beans in 3 inches salted boiling water over high heat until crisp-tender, about 3 to 5 minutes. With tongs or a slotted spoon transfer beans to colander with potatoes and drain well.

In a large bowl toss together warm potatoes, beans, herbs, dressing and salt and pepper to taste. Salad may be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered.

Serve salad warm or at room temperature.

MUSTARD VINAIGRETTE
1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon-style mustard
3 tablespoons finely chopped shallots or green onions
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

In a bowl whisk together all the ingredients except the oil. Slowly add the oil in a stream.

1 cup cooked and shelled edamame
1 cup frozen sweet corn, thawed
2 medium tomatoes, diced
4 green onions, sliced
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients in medium bowl. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour for flavors to blend.

1 head cauliflower, cut into flowerets
1/4 cup olive oil
6 scallions, thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 serrano chili, seeded and minced
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
1 teaspoon middle eastern red peppers (or a combination of paprika and cayenne to your taste)
salt
black pepper
lemon slices, for garnish

In a large pot steam the cauliflower in salted water for about 6-7 minutes. Drain well.

In saute pan, heat the olive oil on medium-high and add the steamed cauliflower, garlic, and chili. Stir fry for about 2-3 minutes being careful not to burn. Add the scallions, the cilantro leaves and the Middle Eastern red pepper. Stir in well. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

1 large pinch saffron threads
2 teaspoons hot water
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 garlic clove, sliced in half
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
8 ounces dried egg noodles or linguine
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
12 coriander seeds, crushed (optional)

Preheat oven to 475.

Place the saffron in a small bowl and crush to a powder with a teaspoon. Pour the hot water over it and set aside to steep for 10 minutes.

In a small saucepan, melt the butter over very low heat. Add the saffron and its liquid; when butter starts to bubble, remove from heat. Let sit for 10 minutes.

Rub an ovenproof 10 inch nonstick skillet or a 1 1/2 quart gratin dish (or, if you’re me, a tart dish) with the garlic. Discarg the garlic. Let dish dry for 2 minutes. Using a slightly dampened brush, brush the pan with a little of the saffron butter. If you are using a nonstick skillet, sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the cheese evenly over the bottom.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Salt well, stir in the pasta, and cook until al dente. Drain and cool under cold running water. Drain well.

Return the pasta to the pot and toss it with the saffron butter; season with salt and pepper and crushed coriander if using. Transfer the pasta to the prepared pan and arrange it in an even layer (do not disturb the cheese if using it on the bottom of the pan.) Press the noddles down lightly and sprinkle remaining cheese over the top.

Bake until the top is brown and crusty, 30 to 35 minutes. Let sit for a few minutes. If you used a nonstick skillet, place a plate over the pan and invet the cake onto it. Then invert the cake onto a platter. Cut the cake into wedges and serve at once.

Vegetarian Tamale Pie

2 cup water
1 cup fine yellow corn meal
dash salt
2 teaspoon chili powder
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained (or about 1 1/2 cup cooked dried black beans)
12 oz chunky salsa
1 diced jalapeno (or to taste)
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted and cracked (or just under 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin)
1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds, toasted and cracked (or under 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander)
2 small or 1 large carrot, chopped

Directions:

Sautee carrots in vinegar or whatever you usually use, along with the spices. add the jalapeno and the beans, stirring and cooking about 3 min, then add salsa and reduce heat to a simmer. while the bean mixture is simmering, bring 2c water to boil with dash of salt. a little at a time, sprinkle the corn meal into the boiling water, stirring constantly to avoid lumps. continue sprinkling and stirring until you have a thick porridge resembling grits or cream of wheat (ymmv with the amount of corn meal this takes — don’t force all the corn meal into the batter if it looks done with less). remove batter from heat and stir in chili powder. the bean mixture should be just about cooked now — if carrots are tender, remove bean mixture from heat.
spread 1/2 the corn meal mixture into the bottom of a large loaf pan or small baking dish. spread all of the bean mixture (or as much as reasonably fits in your pan) onto the corn batter. Top with remaining half of the batter, kind of like a top and bottom crust. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 min or until the top corn meal batter is pretty firmly set.

Garnish, if desired, with fresh tomatoes, cilantro, scallions, hot sauce, etc.

1/4 cup raw sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 egg white
1 teaspoon honey
10 kumquats, halved, seeds removed.

1. In a small bowl, combine the sugar, salt and cinnamon. In another small bowl, lightly beat the egg white and honey.

2. Line a plate with wax paper. Dip the kumquat halves halfway into the egg-white mixture, then immediately dip into the sugar mixture. Lay on the plate and freeze until solid. Serves 4.

Skirlie
Serves 4 – 6

2 onions, roughly chopped
6 TBS butter or oil
3/4 cup oatmeal
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
1 tsp dried thyme
Salt and pepper to taste

Melt fat in frying pan, add onion, and cook over medium heat until well browned. Stir in enough oatmeal to make a fairly thinck mixture, add the lemon zest, thyme, and salt and pepper, then continue to cook and stir or about 7 minutes, until cooked through. Serve hot.

Mushrooms With Red Peppers, Cumin and Thyme

INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 lb. fresh mushrooms, quartered
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried thyme, crumbled
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 Tbs chopped fresh Italian parsley

DIRECTIONS
Heat the oil in a large, heavy skillet. Add onion and red epper, and saute about 7 minutes over medium heat. Add mushrooms, cumin thyme, paprika, cayenne, salt, pepper and saute over medium heat, stirring often, about10 minutes or until all vegetables are tender. (Mushrooms can be kept, coverd, 2 days in refrigerator. Reheat in skillet.) Add parsely and remove from heat. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve hot.

Serves 4-5 side dish servings.

Lemon Chive Couscous
Serves 6

Garlic: 2 cloves chopped
Olive Oil: 2 tbs.
Water: 1/4 cup
Couscous: 1 cup
Salt: 1 tsp
Pepper: 1/4 tsp
Chives: 1 TBS chopped
Basil: 1/2 tsp
Lemon: 1 zested and juiced

Cook garlic in olove oil 1 min. And 1 1/4 cup water, bring to a boil. Stir in couscous, salt and peper, remove from heat, cover, let sit 5 min. Add chives, basil, and 1 tbs. each lemon zest and lemon juice, stirring until blended. Fluff with fork before serving.

Tomtato Cheese Tart
Serves 4 to 6

1 uncooked pie crust (homemade or purchased)
1/4 cup sun-dried tomato pesto (homemade or purchased)
3 medium sized tomatoes, sliced 1/3″ thick and drained on paper towels.
1 TBS lemon juice
4 ounces sliced mozzarella cheese
1 bunch fresh basil, picked from stem, washed and dried between paper towels
1/4 cup coarsely grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat ov to 400.

Place dough in pie plate and push edges down sothe sides are about 1/2″ igh. Re-crimp the edge if necessary. Cover the bottom with a circle of parchment, prick the bottom all over through the parchment, and weight down with raw rice, dried beans, pei weights, etc.

Bake the crust for 10 minutes (partial bake) and remov from the oven. Turn the heat down to 350.

Remove weights and parchment and gently spread the pesto onto the bottom of the pie crust.

Alternate tomato slices, chesse slices, and basil leaves in single layers. Sprikle witt lemon juice and Parmesan cheese over the top. Bake 20 minutes more, until crust edge is brwn and tomatoes are set.

Remove from oven and cool on wire rack to room temperatue.