Author Archives: KarenFrazier

Homemade Mayo – How to Make it and Why You Should

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mayoIf you’ve ever looked at the ingredients on the back of a commercial mayonnaise, you might be surprised to find chemicals, preservatives, and high-fructose corn syrup (HCFS). In fact, “light” mayonnaise that contains lower amounts of fat often incorporates an array of surprising ingredients your great grandmother wouldn’t have even recognized as food. From commercial mayonnaise, here are a few ingredients on the label: CALCIUM DISODIUM EDTA, SUGAR, HCFS, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS.

While I receive kind of scary letters from the corn growers PR people when I mention HCFS in an article or blog post, I feel I must here. HCFS is an artificial sweetener made from fructose and sucrose. It has been linked to the growing obesity problem, and it is always best to limit all forms of sugar, including HCFS. Some experts believe HCFS is even more responsible for obesity than table sugar because of the way your body processes it, and some evidence suggests it contributes to liver scarring and cirrhosis. As with everything, the key is moderation. Unfortunately, because HCFS (more recently called corn sugar, but don’t let the new label fool you. It’s still HCFS.) is so ubiquitous in processed foods due to how cheaply it is produced and how plentiful it is, the negative health effects may prove to be exponential.

Homemade mayonnaise, however, contains only a few natural ingredients that just about everyone recognizes as something you can eat: egg yolks, oil, acid (lemon juice or vinegar typically), and salt. If you’d like to flavor it, you can add chopped fresh herbs, citrus zest, minced fresh garlic, or chipotle. Making it is an easy process. You can use your blender, a whisk, or a food processor. I’m going to describe the food processor method here, although it is easy to adapt for any equipment once you know the process.

Homemade Mayo

Ingredients:

  • Yolk of one egg
  • 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons acid (lemon juice, lime juice, red wine vinegar, white vinegar, etc.)
  • 1 cup of oil (macadamia, olive oil, avocado oil)
  • Pinch to 1/2 teaspoon of salt

Method:

  1. Place egg, acid, and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Process a few seconds to combine.
  2. Your food processor should have a tube in the feed chute you use to push vegetables in. In the removable circular tube in the middle, there should be a small hole in the bottom. Fit the tube into the feed chute, and turn on the food processor. Pour a few drips of oil in the tube with the processor running. When that oil has been incorporated in the mayonnaise, pour a little more. Next, fill the tube with the oil and let it run in a slow stream into the egg mixture as the processor continues to run, until you have incorporated all of the oil.
  3. That’s it. Making mayonnaise is quite simple, and the homemade product tastes fresh and delicious. If you do not have the round feed tube with the small hole in the bottom, or if you are using a whisk, then you need to begin incorporating the oil very slowly while whisking constantly. Start with a drop or two of oil, add another drop or two, and then begin to add the oil in a very thin, slow stream while whisking constantly. If you add the oil too quickly, the mayonnaise will fail to emulsify.

Variations

  • Chipotle-lime mayonnaise: Replace at least 2 teaspoons of acid with fresh squeezed lime, add 1/2 tsp of lime zest, and a dash of dried chipotle.
  • Lemon-basil mayonnaise: Replace 2 teaspoons of acid with lemon and add 1/2 tsp of lemon zest. Roughly chop seven a small bunch of fresh basil and process it with the mayonnaise at the end to blend.
  • Garlic mayonnaise: Use red wine vinegar for your acid, and add the full 1/2 tsp of salt.Take one to two cloves of fresh garlic and put them through a garlic press. Put them in with the egg mixture and pulse the food processor to blend. Proceed to add your oil as instructed.

Tips

  • Mayonnaise will keep up to one week when tightly covered and refrigerated.
  • Use the freshest eggs possible.
  • You can use whole eggs, which creates a lighter, less creamy mayonnaise. You may need to adjust your oil slightly, so keep an eye as you process to determine when it is done.
  • If your mayonnaise fails to emulsify the first time you try it (and occasionally I still have a batch go awry), try it again, adding the oil just a little bit more slowly and making sure you do not stop whisking or processing as your incorporate it.
  • You can incorporate other oils such as extra-virgin olive oil or walnut oil; however, remember they are very intensely flavored. If you do use these oils, I suggest only adding a few tablespoons to 1/4 cup of them in order to avoid overpowering the mayonnaise.

Getting creative with the acids you use will change the flavor and character of your mayonnaise.

Smoked Baby Back Ribs

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ribsby Karen Frazier

Everyone has their own way of making ribs, and some of them are pretty darn good. I enjoy my ribs tender, juicy and smoky with a hit of heat. At worst, ribs come off of the barbecue dried and stringy. When well done, however, they can be a thing of beauty.

In our house, we take our ribs very seriously. We begin the journey to perfect ribs the night before, and when rib day dawns, we plan to be home for at least five hours, carefully tending the ribs as they cook low and slow on a smoky gas grill.

If you’re in a hurry, don’t try this at home. If, however, you’re willing to wait for a good thing, then by all means give this rib grilling process a try. You’ll be very glad you did.

Step One: Choosing Your Ribs

You can use this process with either baby back or spare ribs. I prefer the baby back, which tend to be more flavorful and tender than the spare ribs. Find the meatiest racks you can – some meat cutters really skimp. Watch for bones showing through the meat. If you see them, you just may have skimpy ribs. The place with the meatiest baby backs I’ve come across? Costco. I plan for a half rack per female, a 1/4 rack per kid (except teens), and a full rack per teen or man. I usually have leftovers, but these ribs reheat well.

Step Two: Brining – The Night Before

Brining is the best thing to happen to grilled meat since the invention of barbecue sauce. It adds moisture and flavor into the meat, helping to prevent drying as you cook them. To make a brine, I add 1/2 cup of kosher salt (or 1/4 cup table salt) and 1/4 cup of Swerve sweetener per gallon of water. Find a large container or a cooler and fill with as much brine as you need to soak your ribs. Brine them for one hour the night before you plan to cook them.

Step Three: Rubbing – The Night Before

Remove ribs them from the brine, and dry them off. Then, use generous amounts of rub on both sides of the ribs. Wrap the ribs in plastic and refrigerate overnight.

Many commercial rib rubs exist. I don’t like them. They tend to be over-salty and not nearly as flavorful as a rub you make yourself. While my rib rub differs based on mood, I have a basic formula I follow using dried herbs and spices.

Two tablespoons each:

Cumin
Salt
Oregano
Chili powder
One tablespoon each:
Ground black pepper
Ground white pepper
Four tablespoons each:
Swerve sweetener
Sweet paprika
One teaspoon each:
Cayenne
You can adjust your proportions, double it, triple it – whatever you need to do. Plan on about 1/4 cup of rib rub for each rack.

Step Four: Smoke – The Night Before

If you use a regular grill, smoke preparation also begins the night before. Choose wood chips or chunks you like, and set them to soak overnight. I prefer chuks to chips for their ability to smoke longer, and applewood for its subtle flavors. You probably have a favorite. I don’t recommend hickory, which I believe is too aggressive at asserting its own flavor into the ribs.

We have a smoker, which we use to smoke our ribs. We keep it low and slow – about 275 for about four or five hours.

Step Five: Barbecue Prep – Rib Day

Congratulations! You’ve made it to rib day and you are mere hours away from the best ribs of your life. For a gas grill, set it on the lowest temperature possible, and close the lid. You want to heat it to a consistent temperature of about 275 degrees, where it should remain for most of the day. The key to ribs is low and slow. Once the grill reaches a temperature of 275 degrees, turn off one of the burners, leaving the other on low. This should allow you to keep the ribs at consistent temperature.
Make foil packets in which you place your wood chips. We like to set two or three foil packets around the grill for full saturation. Place slits in the top for the smoke to escape, and grant easy access so you can add more wood chips as needed. Place the packets underneath the grill plates and allow them to heat as you preheat your grill.

For a smoker: Turn it on to 275. Bam! You’re done.

Step Six: Cook the Ribs

If you own a smoker, this section is pretty short: smoke your ribs, low and slow, at about 250-275 until they fall off the bone (about 4-6 hours). If you own a grill, read on.

If you own rib racks, use them. This keeps the ribs from direct contact with the grill and facilitates the development of tender, fall-off-the-bone meat. You can find them at many kitchen speciality stores, and they are quite inexpensive. Otherwise, place ribs on the part of the grill where the burner has been turned off. You are going to use indirect heat to grill your ribs.

Close the lid and walk away. Every 30 minutes, check the temperature of the ribs to make sure they are still grilling low, and rotate the position of the ribs so they cook evenly. Check smoke packets to see if supplies need to be replenished, as well. Have a beer and wait.

At between 3-1/2 and 5 hours, the ribs should start to get really tender. Poke them with a fork, or give the end of a rack a small twist with tongs and see if it is falling off the bone. When it is, they’re done.
We usually stop here and eat our ribs; however, I know many people really, really, really like barbecue sauce or glaze. If you’ve carefully tended your smoke and barbecue temperature, however, these ribs will not need them. They should be smoky, sweet, and juicy.

Still, if you absolutely must, proceed to step seven.

Step Seven (Optional): Glaze the Ribs

I actually love my ribs with just the dry rub and no glaze. If you brine them and keep them on low and slow, they will be tender and moist.

If you like your ribs a little wetter, then glaze them. You could use commercial barbecue sauce, although what a waste of perfectly good ribs that would be. You could also make your own barbecue sauce, as I outlined here. However, I believe even a homemade tomato-based barbecue sauce will overwhelm the sweet smokiness of these  ribs. Therefore, if your ribs must be covered in something other than deliciousness, I recommend making a glaze.

How do you make a glaze? Add:

  • A base liquid (chicken stock, wine, beer, cola, or something)
  • Something sweet (stevia, Swerve sweetener, honey)
  • Acid (balsamic vinegar, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, etc.)
  • Salt
  • A dash of heat (cayenne, jalapenos, red pepper flakes, hot sauce)

Simmer it altogether on the stove until it becomes syrupy, tasting to adjust flavor. Brush the glaze on the ribs and stick them under the broiler for a few minutes to set the glaze.

Crockpot BBQ Beans

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beansI’m not going to lie. There are days when cooking is not an option. While I’ve managed to find ways to spend less than an hour in the kitchen cooking most meals, some days that is not even in the cards. I had a meal planned for today – a pork roast beautifully brined, artfully flavored with a sweet/spicy rub, and cooked low and slow in the oven until it was fork tender before I brushed it with a sweet maple glaze.

The best laid plans, however. We were invited to a barbecue tonight, and Jim has to work. Whenever there’s a barbecue, my friends ask me to bring one thing: my beans. I have to admit, they are pretty darn good and never quite the same way twice because I pretty much dump a bunch of stuff together, stick it in the crockpot, and let it cook all day.

Homemade Barbecue Sauce

Since I had the roast that needed to be cooked today, I stuck it in one of my crockpots with some barbecue sauce. It is currently becoming pulled pork for Jim’s next few work meals. I like to make my own BBQ sauce. Though I can’t tell you proportions (I dump), when I make BBQ sauce it may contain some (or all) of the following: Muir Glen organic tomato sauce, tomato paste, liquid smoke, smoked paprika, whiskey, chili powder, cayenne, minced garlic, minced onion, vinegar, minced shallot, salt, fresh cracked black pepper, pepper flakes, molasses, brown sugar. Typically, I start with tomato sauce and paste, liquid smoke, garlic, onion, paprika, vinegar, chili powder, whiskey, and molasses or brown sugar in a pot on the stove. Then I start tasting and adding stuff, and I let it simmer and thicken. Usually it comes out pretty well.

Beans for the Barbecue

My beans that are so popular at barbecues don’t actually have a recipe. I learned basic concepts from Etta Kirk, a family friend, and then I started to adapt them. My process is typically pretty similar each time, though proportions vary widely and sometimes I get creative and toss in something extra like a little whiskey or liquid smoke.

Ingredients

  • 1-2 large cans of your favorite commercial baked beans. I like Bush’s country-style.
  • 1 can of kidney beans, drained
  • 1 lb. of ground beef, browned
  • 4-5 slices of bacon, browned and crumbled
  • One sweet onion
  • One each red and green peppers
  • 2-3 jalapeno peppers, seeded
  • Several cloves of garlic
  • Barbecue sauce (see above) (around 1/2 cup)
  • Dijon or sweet hot mustard (usually a couple tablespoons)
  • Brown sugar or molasses (about 1/4 cup)

Method

  1. In a large crockpot, mix baked beans, kidney beans, ground beef, bacon, barbecue sauce, mustard, and brown sugar or molasses.
  2. Roughly chop vegetables and place them in the bowl of a food processor with garlic. Pulse the processor for several one second pulses until vegetables are finely minced. Add them to the beans and stir well.
  3. Cook in the crockpot on high for four hours or low for eight hours.
  4. The best part about this is you can create it to your taste. Make your own BBQ sauce, or choose your favorite commercially prepared offering. Processing the vegetables and garlic to a nearly pureed state makes them spread their flavor through the beans, giving it a hit of nice heat. You can also put the beans in a foil baking dish, cover them with foil, and cook them on the barbecue for several hours as you cook low and slow meats such as ribs.

Farm Fresh Eggs

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eggsMy friend Kathrynn Saari is a genius at coaxing food from the earth. She’s always been a source of garden delights, but after a recent move to property large enough to raise chickens and keep bees, she’s become my regular supplier of farm fresh eggs. For just $3 per dozen, I get two cartons of eggs at the end of every week, and frankly, I can’t wait for the honey.

For those of you who have only ever tried supermarket eggs, I urge you to seek a source from the farm. Many people do not realize it, but eggs at the grocery store (even the organic ones) are several weeks old by the time they make it to your refrigerator. While this makes them ideal for hard boiling (older eggs peel much more cleanly than fresh eggs), there is a payoff in flavor and color.

The eggs I get from Kathrynn have been plucked from beneath the butts of chickens hours earlier. They arrive in a colorful array – white, brown, blue, and sage green. Just looking at them in a carton is a delight. When I crack one open, the yolk is a deep sunshine-colored orangey-yellow that is so much more intensely pigmented than a store-bought egg. They also typically have a higher yolk to white ratio, rendering anything you make from them silky and delicious.

Just last week, I baked a batch of chocolate chip cookies from these wonderful eggs. Jim assures me they are the best chocolate chip cookies he has ever had, and he’s not really a fan of that type of cookie. He’s more of an oatmeal raisin man. Still, the cookies were spectacular. Although the eggs are slightly smaller than a supermarket egg, I used the normal amount. The result was cookies that rose to a spectacular height. Yesterday, I made zucchini bread with them. I have never made a quick bread with such a perfect, moist crumb.

Baking aside, farm fresh eggs make homemade pastas tastier and more velvety, homemade mayonnaise richer, and taste delicious when you feature them in humble scrambled eggs. Since I’m currently working with beautiful vegetables straight from my CSA box, I also enjoy a really good frittata. With farm fresh eggs, they are even better than you could image.

Heirloom Tomato and Zucchini Fritatta

Ingredients

  • 6 eggs
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • Fresh cracked black pepper to taste
  • 1 tsp. unsalted butter
  • 1/4 zucchini, sliced
  • 3-4 thick slices heirloom tomato
  • 3 Tbsp. (or more) of grated cheese. For this, I enjoy Asiago.
  • Drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
  • 3-4 leaves of fresh basil, torn into small pieces
  • Pinch of sea salt

Method:

  1. Set oven to broil.
  2. Whisk together eggs until well combined.
  3. Whisk in heavy cream, and black pepper to combine.
  4. Heat an oven-proof saute pan on the stove top over medium-high heat, melting the butter in it to prevent sticking. Use more butter if necessary.
  5. Pour egg mixture into pan. As the eggs begin to set up around the side, gently work them towards the center with a spatula and tilt pan to distribute unset eggs.
  6. When eggs have mostly set, remove from heat. Arrange zucchini and tomatoes on top. Sprinkle with grated cheese.
  7. Place in oven under broiler, watching carefully. Cook for just a few moments, until frittata puffs slightly and cheese melts and begins to brown.
  8. Remove from oven.
  9. Slice into wedges.
  10. Drizzle each slice with olive oil, and sprinkle with basil and a little sea salt. My son will also tell you that drizzling these with truffle oil in place of olive oil makes the frittata even better.
  11. Serve immediately.

The Quest for the Perfect Crab Sandwich

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BaguetteMy quest began simply enough about five years ago. On vacation in Cannon Beach, Oregon, my husband and I wandered into the Wayfarer Restaurant. While enjoying the magnificent view of Haystack Rock, I stumbled on the one menu item I had to have. It was listed quite simply. “Crab Sandwich.”

When it arrived, it was the perfect combination of sweet dungeness crab baked with melting local cheddar cheese, a hint of garlic and herbs, and a buttery, chewy, crunchy baguette. Combined with a glass of Sokol Blosser Evolution, a crisp, tropical white wine, it was heaven. I was sad when it was gone.

On my return home, I decided it would be easy to recreate in my kitchen. Unfortunately, while I got several of my tries close, I could never quite get it right. It was, however, a fun five years of trying. We returned frequently to Cannon Beach, which is just down the road aways, and every time we were there, I stopped by on my super secret taste test quest.

I am happy to report that, on Monday night, to the delight and joy of my family, I got it exactly right, and maybe, just maybe, even a little better than the Wayfarer. If you’d like to try out the Wayfarer’s crab sandwich, stop by the next time you are on the Oregon Coast. If that’s not in your schedule, here’s the recipe I spent five years attempting to steal recreate.

Crab and Cheddar Sandwiches

Per sandwich you will need:

  • One small sandwich baguette or part of a large baguette, sliced lengthwise but not quite all the way through (like a hotdog bun)
  • Three to six ounces of lump crab meat. If you don’t want to clean it out of a crab yourself, I buy the fresh lump crabmeat in a container in the fish section of my local Top Foods.
  • One tablespoon each plain cream cheese and herbed cream cheese (or a little bit of Boursin herb cheese)
  • Three tablespoons of Plugra butter, melted
  • One clove of garlic, pressed through a garlic press
  • 2-3 tablespoons of shredded Tillamook medium cheddar cheese
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Melt the butter, and combine with minced garlic.
  3. Brush butter on both sides of baguette, and place on a baking sheet.
  4. In a small bowl, combine both types of cream cheese until well mixed.
  5. Drain crab and toss with cream cheese.
  6. Place crab mixture in baguette.
  7. Sprinkle with cheese.
  8. Bake for 15 minutes, until cheese is melted and filling is warm.

Serve the sandwiches with a simply dressed salad of greens and a crisp white wine such as Sokol Blosser Evolution or an unoaked Chardonnay. At the Wayfarer, they serve it with pommes frites, thin sliced and crispy with a hint of garlic and salt. It would also work well with Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris (or Grigio), or an American sparkler such as Argyle’s fantastic Blanc-de-Blancs (an all Chardonnay sparkling wine) or vintage Brut. While I enjoy this sandwich with Dungeness crab, I am sure it will work equally well with your local favorite. Just make sure when  you eat the sandwich, you step away from all distractions and really take the time to enjoy it.

Zucchini Abundance

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blossomI’m starting to think my CSA is getting lazy. Every week for the last month, the box has been chock full of zucchini – and some other stuff. Zucchini seems to be every gardener’s pride. It’s also their nightmare. The stuff multiplies in ways you can barely believe whenever you grow it. I’ve always wondered why, when so many people give tons of zucchini away to their neighbors every year, they continue to grow so much of it.

Still, to me, zucchini symbolizes abundance and sharing.

No one ever says, “Nope, I am not going to share my zucchini with anyone else because then I might not have enough.”

At least, I’ve never heard anyone say such a thing. It’s because when we give zucchini away, we always know that there will be more. It comes in such abundance that we freely share, sometimes with complete strangers.

Imagine how the world would be if we were that certain in the ongoing abundance of our other resources. What if we could trustingly share with others, knowing for sure our own needs would be covered, as well. Would we then need to hoard wealth? If zucchini were currency, then there would no longer be haves and have nots. What a wonderful world that would be.

Zucchini Tips

What on earth can you do with all of that zucchini? Once you’ve shared as much as you can with friends and neighbors to the point that they hide behind closed curtains with lights off when they see you coming, most people are still stuck with more zucchini than they could possibly eat before it  goes bad.

  • Grate the zucchini and store it in one cup measurements in a Ziploc bag in the freezer. Use it throughout the year for zucchini bread, and to add to sauces, soups, and stews.
  • Zucchini is a terrific stealth vegetable. When you grate it and mix it into the foods you cook, your kids get fresh vegetables without even knowing they have them.
  • Make an Italian soup. I like to combine browned Italian sausage, chopped onions and garlic, canned tomatoes, chicken broth, zucchini and carrot chunks, and kidney beans for a quick and delicious soup. Add chopped herbs such as oregano, as well as a little salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste. For a little extra zip, toss in a few dried red pepper flakes. Serve it with a grating of hard Italian cheese and some crusty bread for a full meal.
  • Low carbers can turn fresh grated zucchini into mock hash browns in lieu of potatoes. Grate and fry in olive oil or butter to brown, and then sprinkle on a little sea salt.

Zucchini Blossoms
Many people don’t realize that zucchini blossoms are edible. The plants grow with male and female flowers. The female flowers turn into zucchini, and the male blossoms pollinate them. Leave the blossoms with the thick stems, and instead choose only the thin-stemmed flowers, leaving a few behind to pollinate the plant. If you’d like to reduce your zucchini yield, you can also harvest the female blossoms. Harvest just after the blossoms have opened. Remove the pistils and gently clean the blossoms using a soft dry brush or damp paper towel. Use the delicate flowers the same day you pick them. You can stuff them with ricotta or soft goat cheese and herbs, batter them a mixture of equal parts flour and sparkling water with a little salt for flavor, and deep fry them. They impart a delicate flavor that is out of this world. Serve this light treat with a fizzy white, such as an Italian Muscato d’Asti or Prosecco.

The Tao of Tomatoes

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tomatoMy husband believes he does not like tomatoes. I disagree. What he doesn’t like are the mealy, flavorless red fruits I sometimes purchase at the grocery store that are not locally in season and have traveled hundreds of miles to get to my plate. If you want tomatoes in the off season and don’t have a hothouse, then such things are a necessary evil, but they fail to live up to the glory of a real, fresh, seasonal tomato.

Last night, my husband ate such a tomato. In a rather surprised voice, he told me it was good. He did not gag once while eating it.

There’s something very special (dare I say hedonistic?) about eating a sun-ripened, heirloom tomato that was just plucked from the vine hours ago at its peak of ripeness. Instead of the mushy, insipid tomato you buy at a grocery store, that heirloom tomato is firm, juicy, and sweet like a berry.

Heirloom Tomato Salad

Have some really fresh tomatoes just waiting to be plucked? Try this simple salad.

1. Create a vinaigrette by mixing one part vinegar (balsamic works well with tomatoes, though you may use any kind such as red wine or Champagne vinegar) with three parts olive oil. Add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, about a half teaspoon of minced shallot, and sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste. Whisk to emulsify.

2. Thinly slice your heirloom tomatoes and arrange them on a platter.

3. Pour your vinaigrette over the tomatoes.

4. Sprinkle with small pieces of fresh basil.

5. Allow to sit at room temperature for about two hours to allow flavors to mingle.

Tomato Tips

If you have such an amazing, fresh tomato in your possession, consider the following tips in order to allow it to reveal itself to you in all its glory.

1. Never, ever, ever store a tomato in the refrigerator. It causes the tomato to lose sweetness and texture. Instead, store it stemside down in a cool, dry location at a consistent temperature, and eat it soon after picking.

2. Select tomatoes that have a deep orangey-red color, firm yet supple flesh, and a substantial heft for their size. Give the tomato a sniff on the blossom end, smelling for a rich tomato scent.

3. When cooking, many canned tomatoes work as well if not better than fresh. My favorite canned tomatoes are Muir Glen organic tomatoes, which have great flavor with no tinny notes.

4. A teeny bit of sea salt on freshly sliced tomato can bring out the flavors.

Pesto

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pestoToday is CSA day. For those of you who don’t know, CSA stands for community supported agriculture. Many organic farms in local communities offer members the opportunity to purchase a share in the farm. This can run anywhere from about $400 for a season to $1,000. Then, once growing season starts, the farm supplies you with a box of freshly picked vegetables every week.

This is my first year trying community supported agriculture. I like the idea of keeping my money in my community and receiving fresh, organic vegetables that haven’t traveled hundreds of miles before they make it to my kitchen. Very few foods taste better than a fresh vegetable picked at its peak of ripeness.

Having a CSA delivery every week has changed the way I cook this summer. I used to plan my meals and then go to the store to get what I needed to cook them. Now, I wait for my CSA box and then plan my meals around what is in them. Since Tuesday is CSA delivery day, I will see what treasures arrive today and then create simple meals. Last night I used the last of my previous week’s CSA, making a seafood chowder with red potatoes, fresh carrots, and local seafood.

Scapes

My first CSA box contained scapes. While they look like octopus tentacles, scapes are actually the green tops of garlic bulbs that rise above the ground as the bulb develops. They have a subtle garlicky flavor and make a fantastic seasoning. You can chop them and use them to season foods such as oven-roasted potatoes, or you can create a terrific pesto.

Pesto

Pesto is a simple, fresh sauce that is easy to make. All it requires are herbs, virgin olive oil, nuts, hard cheese, and garlic. The traditional pesto contains basil, olive oil, pine nuts, parmesan cheese, and garlic. Pulse the ingredients in a food processor and voila, pesto. To make it, use two tablespoons of oil, 3/4 cup of grated cheese, 1/4 cup of pine nuts, three cloves of garlic and a small bunch of basil. You can also hand chop the ingredients and mix them together. If you do use the food processor, pulse it a few times to chop but not homogenize your ingredients.

That’s it. Use your basic pesto to top warm pasta, jazz up eggs, or as a sauce for grilled chicken or fish. Your only limit is your creativity. You can also replace any ingredient with something else. Consider this: arugula and walnuts in place of pine nuts and basil. It’s up to you, and it’s so easy to do.

Want to make scape pesto? Use scapes, parmesan, toasted slivered almonds, olive oil, and a touch of sea salt.

Pair pesto dishes with a nice unoaked white wine, such as a Sauvignon Blanc or a dry Riesling. Try the 2010 Airfield Yakima Valley Sauvignon Blanc for just $13 per bottle, or a Chateau Ste. Michelle Columbia Valley Riesling Cold Creek Vineyard for around $15.