Month: June 2012

You are my sunshine

The cats are panting, the tea is sunning itself in a tall green jar, and all I want to be doing is jumping into this Iowa lake over and over and over.

It’s officially summer. And it’s officially too hot to cook. Thanks to an inspired vegetarian dinner party that my sister put together for friends a couple of summers ago I now have the solution for hot summer nights. And it is as fun to say as it is to make: Gazpacho.

I have to admit, the first time I remember trying gazpacho I was less than smitten. A bunch of us were celebrating my sister’s upcoming wedding at her friend’s family’s lake house on Pine Lake (one of the thousand Pine Lakes in Wisconsin) and while I have many wonderful memories from that excursion, trying the gazpacho was not one of them. Everything else was magical: A swimming adventure across the lake to jump on someone else’s water trampoline, sitting on the dock at night with my mom and sister and talking about their year spent in Moscow, a sailboat ride with a nalgene full of gin and tonic, singing ‘You are my Sunshine’ around the large wooden dinner table while the setting sun glowed through the tall windows that were cranked open to allow a breeze. And a dessert- so simple, so summer perfection in a bowl- blueberries, sour cream, brown sugar.

But I didn’t give up on gazpacho entirely, and when my sister suggested making it again, I was ready and willing. This time it was love. Here is my sister’s recipe for gazpacho.

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Sena’s Gazpacho

Serves 2-4

Ingredients:

1 bottle of Knutson’s Very Veggie Juice
1 T olive oil
1 (or 2- depending on how spicy you like it) jalapenos, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 cucumber, chopped
Juice of 1 lemon and 1 lime
1 clove garlic
1/2 white onion, chopped
Cilantro
Parsley
Salt
Optional: tomatoes, carrots

Directions:

Blend all ingredients, but leave a little chunky (I used my birthday gift- a hand-held blender- and did it right in the pot). Chill for at least an hour. Garnish with a dollop of yogurt or sour cream and a sprig of cilantro, if you like. Enjoy on a hot summer day.

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For our dinner party two summers ago we served it with beergaritas and a black bean taco bar (And dark chocolate and coconut sorbet for dessert? Or I am daydreaming that?) Last night I added a side salad of raw kale with salsa verde. Happy summer.

Saving grace

Two Tuesday nights ago I sat at my kitchen table in utter disbelief that people could see the world in a way that is so vehemently different than how I see it. I grew up in a place that valued public education, the outdoors, compromise. Now all of that has seemed to change. As I try to negotiate my way through this different world, I can’t help but think that this change has a lot to do with money. And I have never understood money. So this could be my problem, or it might just be my saving grace.

In the midst of what may seem like a referendum on the life you have chosen for yourself, you must return to the things that bring you happiness. Cooking, digging in the dirt, swooning over pets, bike rides, and cauliflower. With salsa verde.

I made this cauliflower a month and a half of Tuesdays ago on my birthday. My parents joined us for cocktail hour and the cauliflower, with its zingy sidekick, was a hit.

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Roasted Cauliflower with Salsa Verde

This recipe comes from A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg

Ingredients:

For the salsa verde:

1 medium jalepeño, ribbed and seeded, then finely chopped
2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro
2 medium cloves garlic, minced with a pinch of salt
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
4 tablespoons olive oil
salt to taste

For the cauliflower:

1 medium cauliflower
2-3 tablespoon olive oil*
salt to taste

Directions:

Prepare the salsa verde first. In a medium bowl, combine the jalepeño, cilantro, garlic, lime juice and olive oil and whisk to combine. Add salt to taste and whisk well. Set aside at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 450°F. Wash and dry cauliflower well. Place it on a cutting board, stem side down and slice it vertically, top down, into 1/4 inch slices. (You’ll end up with a pile of florets of varying sizes — that’s fine; it means some will be darker/crispier than others for a nice mix of textures.)

Put the cauliflower in a large bowl and toss with 2 tablespoons olive oil, making sure to coat all the pieces. Spread cauliflower in a single layer on a large heavy sheet pan. Salt it lightly.

Bake until the cauliflower is tender, golden and evenly browned in spots, 20-30 minutes, turning occasionally with a spatula.

Serve cauliflower hot or warm, with salsa verde on the side for drizzling (or dipping!).

*I used safflower oil in place of the olive oil for roasting the cauliflower

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On this Tuesday night, invite some friends and make them this cauliflower. Sit outside and toast to your saving grace.

State of the state

The following is a guest appearance on ‘Wisconsin Fun Next Exit’ by Dan Walkner.

Let’s make one thing clear: Wisconsin is not open for business.  Wisconsin is a business.  There is no reason why it isn’t flourishing; in fact there are many factors that should be propelling it forward.  We have ample natural resources.  We have a highly skilled and educated work force.  We have a variety of options for transportation.  Most importantly, we have no shortage of customers world-wide.  Why are we not turning a profit? 

Consider this situation.  You work for a company and the boss says the goal of the company is to make $250,000.  At the end of the year, after going over the books, the boss notices the company actually lost $39,000.  After reviewing the books drastically differently than all the other similar companies in your field, the boss now says the company actually turned a profit of $24, 000.  Although a paltry sum, it is in fact a profit.

The boss calls you into his office.  He says, “Hey, our company did great this year.  We didn’t quite hit our goals, but everything is going as planned.  I do have some bad news, though.  You won’t be getting a bonus.  Frankly, you won’t even get a raise.  Well, in all honesty, you’re going to be taking a pay cut.  But the good news is you aren’t being laid off like many of the others.  So thanks for your perseverance and a job well done.  Keep up the good work!”

Why is the company not working and who’s to blame?  Is the construction worker in line next to me at the grocery store to blame?   Is the person standing in front of your child’s classroom to blame?  Are you to blame?  Am I? 

In the world of work, very rarely are you afforded the opportunity to fire the boss.  In politics, the game is set up to make it nearly impossible.  The boss hasn’t been doing his job.  The argument that the new boss is going to take away my guns (which he isn’t, of course) is not enough of an argument for me to keep the old boss.  Let’s fire the boss and get back to work.