A Simple Dinner to Celebrate Seasonal Local Food

A few weeks ago Maine was in the height of strawberry season, beautiful sweet ripe strawberries were bountiful and always inspiring for a meal. Also fresh was spectacular halibut caught off of Mount Dessert Island and sold at the fish counter within a few hours of being caught. My favorite way to prepare fresh halibut steak is on the grill, the firmness of the fish lends to easy grilling similar to steak. My husband likes to grill and does most of the grilling, he particularily enjoys grilling fish and vegetables. Baby carrots from Horse Power Farm are perfect to grill, the smokiness from charcoal adds a subtle flavor. The halibut was grilled with a sprinkling of sea salt and pepper, and drizzled with strawberry balsamic vinegar. Fiore in Rockland and Bar Harbor sells specialty flavored olive oil and balsamic vinegar. I made a light vinaigrette of equal parts strawberry balsamic vinegar and Persian lime olive oil to drizzle over fresh greens, sliced strawberries and cheddar cheese. The flavors compliment each other perfectly, the sweetness of the strawberries is balanced perfectly with the sharpness of the cheddar cheese and the touch of lime in the olive oil. I like to indulge in the cheddar cheese from Diversity Farm. Our dinner was a healthy flavor filled meal with local ingredients and quickly prepared. Happy Eating!

Pad Thai, my all time favorite dish!

This past winter we travelled to Thailand for the first time. While in Chiang Mai we attended a full day cooking class, A lot of Thai, where we learned to cook traditional dishes from a Thai woman at her home. All of the dishes we cooked were amazing, my favorites were what we call pad thai and cashew chicken in the western world. The key ingredient missing in many recipes for Pad Thai is tamarind puree, it is found in many Asian markets. In Portland Maine there is a good Asian market on Forest Ave, Haknuman Meanchey. My favorite variation of Pad Thai uses crab and asparagus.

Pad Thai (Stir fried noodles in Thai sauce) with Crab and Asparagus

2 servings:

3 tbsp peanut oil

1/4 cup firm tofu cut into small sticks

1 tbsp shallot - chopped

1 tbsp garlic - chopped

1 tbsp fish sauce

1 tbsp light soy sauce

2 tbsp tamarind puree (heaping tbsp)

1 1/2 tbsp raw sugar (not white sugar, I use sugar in the raw or palm sugar)

200g fresh narrow rice noodles (if using dried noodles use 150g soaked in cold water for 15 minutes and drained well).

4-6 tbsp water, more if necessary

1/3 lb asparagus cut into 1 inch pieces

100g or more to taste of bean sprouts

100g chinese chives cut into 1 inch pieces (4-6 scallions)

1/4 lb fresh crab meat

2 eggs

2 tbsp crushed roasted peanuts

lime wedges and cilantro (optional) to garnish

Fry tofu and shallot in peanut oil over medium heat until light brown in a wok using a wooden spoon. Add garlic and cook for about 1 minute. Add the rice noodles and immediately add 1 tbsp water, cook until the noodles are soft adding water as necessary. Next add the fish sauce, soy sauce, tamarind puree, and sugar (make sure to use sugar in the rawest form you can find, processed sugar will not work), cook for about 1 minute. Add crabmeat, asparagus, bean sprouts, and chinese chive (scallions), cook until the chinese chives and asparagus are bright green. Move the mixture of noodles, sauce, and vegetables to one side of the wok and add 1 tbsp peanut oil to the other side. Add the eggs and cook in the peanut oil, when the eggs are almost cooked slowly mix together with the noodle mixture. Remove from heat. Serve promptly adding roasted peanuts, lime wedges, and cilantro to garnish. Happy Eating!

Farmer's Market Pasta Salad

Living on the Blue Hill Peninsula on the coast of Maine I delight in shopping the local farmer's markets each year and the local ingredients I can buy year round (or almost). There are several great organic farms selling beautiful vegetables as well as two of my favorite vendors Bagaduce Pork and Sunset Acres. Bagaduce Pork sells the best sausage I have ever tasted. Sunset Acres specializes in cheeses from goat milk, their goat feta is a staple in my fridge. For a quick tasty fresh dinner here is one of my favorites:

1 lb whole wheat penne (I always use Hodgson Mill)
1/2 lb ground sausage (Bagaduce Pork)
1 large tomato roughly chopped
4-6 scallions thinly sliced
1 medium zucchini
1 medium summer squash
1 medium bell pepper
1/3 cup crumbled feta (I use Sunset Acres goat feta)
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup torn basil leaves
salt
pepper

Cook pasta as directed, drain, do not rinse, and let cool. Meanwhile cook the sausage in a skillet reserving the fat (if lean). Add cooked pasta to a large bowl, add sausage and the fat, and balsamic vinegar. Stir the pasta mixture to evenly coat. Add the vegetables, basil and feta and stir well. Sprinkle with salt and vinegar. More balsamic vinegar can be added if desired for a stronger taste.

I made this for a family BBQ July 4th, it was a great hit!