We’re back! Well, almost.
The 2gourmaniacs have been on a summer hiatus. But we haven’t been slacking off, not for a minute; we’ve done a number of private cheffing and local food events, including the food and service for political fundraiser for a congressional wannabe. Then, for a just an off-the-charts experience, I did a 21 hour “fly-to-Chicago-and-immediately-turn-around-and-drive-back-to-Eastern-Long-Island-with-my-son” jag (don’t ask; kids). Naturally, the other gourmaniac and I performed our annual summer tomatothon, preserving 10 bushels of tomatoes right before Labor Day, only to find out a week later that we had used a bad batch of mason jar lids resulting in multiple jars of very unhappy tomato sauce. So off we went, back to the farm for more tomatoes. A major highlight of the summer was I finally bought a sous vide water oven, and I’ve been sous viding everything in sight since.
But before we settle down into autumn and one of our favorite culinary seasons, the gourmaniacs are heading to Prince Edward Island for a while. Yes, Prince Edward Island as in P.E.I., as in mussels, Malpeque oysters, lobsters, as in, we can’t wait to start cooking anything and everything from the waters of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the local farms. So, we’ll keep you posted from the “Great White North”, albeit, P.E.I. should be pleasantly mild and hopefully dry in late September.
I thought I’d both say “hello” and “sorry, we must be going” by showing you a wonderful summer’s evening all-in-one dish we made recently for a dinner party. From left to right, we have curried chickpeas, potatoes, and fresh peas sauteed in ghee (or butter), tomato sauce, curry, cumin, fenugreek and coriander over Basmati rice. In the middle is our marinated kidney lamb chops, grilled to medium rare and then de-boned. They are on top of grilled zucchini and a Tzatziki sauce. (Recipe follows) Finally, on the right, we have a small salad comprised of fresh from the garden greens, yellow peppers and two colors of cherry tomatoes.
So, it’s great to say hi to everyone again, please come back and read/see great seafood from the Maritimes in the next couple of weeks.
Tzatziki Recipe
Ingredients:
- Juice of ½ lemon
- Lemon rind, finely grated, from half lemon
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 Tbsp white vinegar
- 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1 tsp. salt (adjust to taste)
- White pepper to taste (a few grinds)
- 1 ½ cup Greek yogurt (I use Chobani)
- ½ cup sour cream or crème fraîche
- 2 medium cucumbers, peeled, seeded and grated using a large hole cheese grater
- ¼ cup fresh mint, chopped
- 1 tsp fresh dill, chopped
Method:
In a medium bowl, combine lemon juice, lemon rind, olive oil, vinegar, garlic, salt, and pepper. Mix until well blended. Add the yogurt and the sour cream and, using a spatula, fold all ingredients together until smooth. Lastly, add the grated cucumber and the chopped fresh herbs and blend well. Chill at least 1-2 hours before serving.
RMA
