Monthly Archives: September 2013

Sep 22 2013

Gazpacho

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Gazpacho

Gazpacho

I needed to use some ripe tomatoes from the garden, so I searched the internet for a gazpacho recipe that uses all fresh tomatoes (no canned sauce or tomato juice) and is gluten free (no bread to thicken). Found this recipe and although it’s very basic and easy, it’s the best gazpacho I’ve ever made!

Fresh Gazpacho

My tweaks: Used banana pepper and poblano instead of yellow sweet pepper. I subbed fresh parsley for the cilantro because that’s what I had available. I used my mini food processor to blend most of the tomatoes (and the garlic and parsley), but left some tomatoes chopped for texture. I used my Cuisinart chopper (like a Slap Chop) to get a fine chop on the onion and cucumber.

Sep 21 2013

Tomato Rasam Soup

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Tomato Rasam

Tomato Rasam

 

It’s peak tomato season and I’ve been getting so many from my garden that I’ve been making tomato sauce every few days, but now my freezer is full. I have pasta sauce, pizza sauce, masala sauce, and ranchero sauce.

I needed to find another use for tomatoes and thought that a nice, spicy Rasam soup would be good for the Fall-type weather. I found this recipe and it was exactly what I was looking for. Quick and easy!

Tomato Rasam Soup Recipe

My tweaks: I didn’t use my pressure cooker, but boiled the red lentils in a pot. They took about 30 minutes. I added some coriander seeds to the mustard seeds and made it more of a vegetable Rasam by including green and yellow beans and zucchini and yellow squash from the garden. Also used fresh hot peppers from the garden instead of the dried chilis.

Sep 7 2013

Lao Sze Chuan Inspired Chili Potatoes

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Chili Potatoes

Chili Potatoes

I have been craving the Chili Potatoes from Lao Sze Chuan. “LSC” is a restaurant in Chicago’s Chinatown, but I don’t get down to that area very often. I’ve been impatiently awaiting their new Evanston location, which was supposed to open last month. I finally gave in and decided to figure out how to make the crunchy, sesame flavored potatoes myself (with the help of the internet). This recipe is perfect!

Chinese Shredded Potatoes with Chili and Vinegar

My tweaks: I quadrupled the potatoes because I wanted to have lots of leftovers. I doubled the vinegar/sugar/salt because I didn’t want to overwhelm the potatoes with too much vinegar. I used a combination of regular toasted sesame oil and korean sesame oil for more complexity. Instead of chilis, I added thinly sliced poblano, jalapeño and shishito peppers from my garden and put them in at the same time as the garlic so they would soften. The potatoes are supposed to be crunchy and just barely cooked. They are perfect when they start to look translucent. Serve over rice with a little tamari.