One Last Slice of Summer

There was a definite bite to the air when I walked to the subway this morning. The trees are starting to change colors, trading their green hued leaves for their pretty, multi-colored autumn outfits. While I am looking forward to welcoming fall, my favorite season, with wide open arms, I want to get one last summer recipe in under the wire, before these delicious vegetables go into hibernation for a few months. This easy dish was featured in the Washington Post earlier this year - delicious as a side-dish for some simple grilled chicken or fish and perfectly filling as a meatless meal on its own, it is chock-full of veggies you won't see for a while...the perfect recipe to say "until next year" to summer produce!

End of Summer Vegetable Pie
Adapted from The Washington Post

1 small eggplant, cut crosswise into 1/4 inch slices
1 small pattypan squash, cut crosswise into 1/4 inch slices
1 small sweet onion, cut crosswise into 1/4 inch slices
1 medium tomato, cut crosswise into 1/4 inch slices
8 large basil leaves, cut into chiffonade
4 T. Parmesan cheese
2 T. extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9-inch pie plate with nonstick cooking spray oil.
Create a single layer of eggplant slices in the bottom of the dish- the slices should overlap only at the edges. (They will not cover the bottom completely). Sprinkle 1/3 of the cut basil leaves over the slices, then 1 tablespoon of the cheese; season with salt and pepper. Drizzle a teaspoon or two of oil over the layer. Repeat with the squash, then the onion and tomato slices.

Sprinkle the remaining tablespoon of cheese over the top, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste, and then scatter the breadcrumbs evenly over the cheese. Drizzle about 2 teaspoons of the oil over the top, then cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. Discard the foil; increase the temperature to 375 degrees and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the excess moisture in the bottom of the dish has gone and the top of the gratin begins to brown, 15 to 20 minutes.

Let sit about 15 minutes before serving. Use a thin, sharp knife to cut the pie into 4 equal portions, then use a spatula to transfer to serving plates.

Farmer's Market Friday: Cherry Tomatoes

Still looking for inventive ways to use the season's bumper crop of tomatoes? After reading the book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, which chronicles a Virginia family's quest to eat only seasonal, locally available foods for one calendar year, I have been inspired to preserve some of summer's vegetable bounty for the lean winter months. I'm not big on "traditional" canning because I have a small apartment kitchen that is ill-equipped for this type of undertaking and generally only need to feed one, but other methods of food preservation are appealing to me. One of the best ways I have found to capture some of the vegetable overflow is to slow roast tomatoes, an incredibly simple process. Once roasted, the tomatoes can be kept in a jar in the fridge, covered in a thin layer of olive oil, for several months. I plan on using them in place of store-bought sun dried tomatoes to pump up salads and as an addition to pizza or pasta. I can also vouch that they are pretty darn delicious right out of the oven. After smelling these tasty treats roasting for two hours, I bet you'll have a hard time saving them all for January too...

Slow Roasted Tomatoes

Preheat over to 300 degrees. Slice cherry tomatoes in half and place, cut side up, on a rimmed cookie sheet covered in aluminum foil. Drizzle with olive oil, sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Toss to coat. Roast the tomatoes for until their skin becomes dark and wrinkly, about two hours. Serve immediately on their own, or save for future use in any recipe calling for sun dried tomatoes.

(Additional tomato goodness here and here.)

Peanut Butter Bailout Bars

As you may be aware, I work on Capitol Hill for a Member of Congress. Thus, I have been smack in the middle of the economic tornado our country has been dealing with for the past two weeks.

And when the going gets tough, the tough gets cooking. After another long day at the office, I spent the evening in the kitchen, whipping up some goodies for my hard-working staff as a treat when the economic rescue bill (hopefully!!) passes this afternoon.

I settled on one of my favorite recipes from childhood - an easy to make bar that tastes even better than a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. They are usually called Peanut Butter Gems, but, for one day only, I am rechristening them Peanut Butter Bailout Bars. The value of our retirement portfolios may be in free fall, but you can still get a pretty good deal on chocolate chips... Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Bailout Bars/Peanut Butter Gems
Recipe from my Mom :)

1 c. butter, melted
3 c. powdered sugar
1 c. crunchy peanut butter
1 pkg. graham crackers, crushed (just one of the little cellophane wrapped sleeves)
1 12 oz. pkg. semi sweet chocolate chips

Combine melted butter, powdered sugar, peanut butter and graham cracker crumbs in mixing bowl, stirring to combine. Spread mixture in 9 x 13 pan, pressing down evenly to ensure complete coverage of the pan. Melt chocolate chips in microwave or over very low heat. Spread melted chocolate over the peanut butter mixture. Chill in refrigerator for 1 hour prior to cutting and serving.

On the Road: My Kind of Town, Chicago is

Summer vacation took us to Chicago in August. The Second City, on the banks of Lake Michigan, has always been a favorite of mine. It's the perfect city for outdoor pursuits, first class museum and delicious food. You've got all the benefits of a major world city with a heaping side dish of good ol' Midwestern friendliness. Plus, some of my favorite people in the world live there, so I know Chicago and I will be a part of each others lives for many years to come. Some of my favorite eats this time around...

Mambo Grill

412 N. Clark St. (between Hubbard and Kinzie)

Chicago, IL 60610

(312) 467-9797

We stopped at Mambo Grill for a quick pre-theatre meal before Jersey Boys. The decor was a bit too dark and understated for a Latin American restaurant, but the food more than made up for it. Though known for their mojitos, we opted to sample the margaritas, which were tart and clearly homemade. For me, the highlight of a meal is often a delicious and fresh bread basket - a detail Mambo Grill definitely did not overlook. When we sat down, they brought a heaping basket of warm bread, lightly flavored with jalapenos and accompanied by an orange pepper butter. We enjoyed the Coconut-Curried Tilapia and the Guava Glazed Pollo for our entrees and were out the door just in time to make our show.

Chicago Bagel Authority

953 W. Armitage Ave.

Chicago, IL 60614

(773) 248-9606

Some of my fondest memories of college involve braving the 2am crowds at Bagel and Deli for a late night bagel sandwich to last the long (and by long I mean three block...this was before my city days!!) walk home from the bars. CBA opened in Lincoln Park in 1998 and is modeled after Miami University's famous Bagel and Deli. Like its Ohio counterpart, CBA specializes in creatively named steamed sandwiches. The bagels are sliced open and loaded up with cold cuts, cream cheese, vegetables and then - this is the key step - steamed for a few minutes. The result is hot and delicious and melty and yum yum yum. My favorites are the Tonya Harding Club and the Ben's Best, on sesame. Though I will forever maintain that these bagel sandwiches taste best at 2 in the morning in Oxford, Ohio, CBA is a pretty close second.

DC Cheap Eats: Adams Morgan

Adams Morgan gets a bad rep. It's usually associated with drunk college kids hopping (stumbling, crawling...) from one watering hole to the next, grasping for the elusive brass ring of cheap beer and attractive members of the opposite sex.

And while those views definitely have merit, it's not always like that. I'm in the neighborhood, so it's easy for me to pop over on a weeknight, when 18th street is, you know, kind of normal. No enduring sharp elbows to the side as people clamor for cheap jello shots or getting pushed off the sidewalk to make way for the throngs of stumbling bachelorette parties, teetering in their heels.

If you can look past the discarded beer cans and empty pizza plates featuring tell tale signs of last nights greasy Jumbo Slice, there are some good and affordable places to grab a bite in this part of town. Just be sure to get in and get out before another group of rowdy underage GW fraternity boys stagger down the street...

Astor
1829 Columbia Rd NW
Washington, DC 20009
(202) 745-7495

Around the corner from most of the action on 18th street, Astor is a little bit of an off the beaten track place to grab a quick bite to eat. The menu features a bunch of Middle Eastern specialties that you can carry out or eat on one of the tiny tables in the restaurant or right out front. The service is a bit slow, but worth the wait. You can't go wrong with any of the menu items, but personal favorites include a heaping (and I mean heaping!) Greek salad, velvety hummus, a tangy chicken schwarma sandwich and the vegetable pizza overflowing with fresh produce.

So's Your Mom
1831 Columbia Rd NW
Washington, DC 20009
(202) 462-3666

Nestled in between Astor and the snaking line for the Bank of America ATM is So's Your Mom, a tiny deli and gourmet food store that often gets lost in the shuffle of Adams Morgan. The petite space is filled with gourmet meats and cheeses, bottles of unique salad dressings and mustards, and fancy bakery pastries. In addition to the grocery offerings, you can get big fresh sandwiches made to order with Boar's Head cold cuts and New York-style bagels with a variety of cream cheeses. Head around the corner to Kalorama Park with a copy of the Washington Post, your So's Your Mom bagel and a cup of coffee and you have my preferred way to spend a lazy weekend morning!

Toledo Lounge
2435 18th St NW
Washington, DC 20009
(202) 986-5416

Toledo Lounge is a laid back, grungy oasis in the midst of the madness that is Adams Morgan. With its glaring orange neon sign and duct taped vinyl booths, the place won't win any awards for atmosphere, but the drinks are cheap, there are usually seats on the patio, and the service staff is prompt and attentive. They've got food specials throughout the week and on Wednesday night, they offer half-price grilled cheese. It isn't any fancier than Kraft singles on plain white bread with a heaping plate of fresh cut fries, but it's a cheesy, buttery comfort food hug. All for less than $10 bucks, including tax, tip and a few beers to help wash it all down.

Pieces of You

While I live in Washington, D.C., my boyfriend is in his third year of law school in our home state of Kansas. This arrangement has contributed to many many high cell phone bills, frequent airport trips (I am a whiz at getting through security!) and his leading a quasi-nomadic existence for the past two years, spending the school year in Kansas and the summers with me in D.C. He left a few weeks ago for his final (hallelujah!) year of school and even though he is physically gone, reminders of his presence are everywhere. I'm finding little pieces of him scattered around the apartment - a random can of shaving cream on the bathroom shelf, a stray pair of dress socks behind the laundry basket and a partially used carton of half-and-half in the fridge.

It's partially used because I'm not a coffee drinker. And Andrew is. Religiously. And when he left for the semester, the half-and-half consumption in the apartment decreased dramatically. I don't like to waste food, if I can help it, so I searched for a recipe where I could use up the last few drops of half-and-half that were no longer earmarked for a morning cup of coffee.

My September issue of Cooking Light featured the big winner. Ziti with Cherry Tomatoes and Spinach in a Gorgonzola Cream Sauce got the nod because I had most of the ingredients on hand, including seasonally abundant cherry tomatoes. Plus, I'm a sucker for a creamy pasta sauce.

Gorgonzola is a member of the blue cheese family, and has a strong, tangy flavor. While the flavor of the cheese mellows considerably during cooking, add in the red pepper flakes and you've got a sauce that packs a punch! This recipe makes about two generous portions and put a big dent in my significant others abandoned groceries. Now if I could just find a creative use for his orphaned dress socks...

Ziti with Cherry Tomatoes and Spinach in a Gorgonzola Cream Sauce
From Cooking Light

4 ounces uncooked ziti
1/2 t. olive oil
1 c. cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 t. salt
1/8 t. crushed red pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
6 T half-and-half
3 T Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
1 c. fresh spinach

Cook pasta according to package directions; drain. Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add cherry tomatoes, salt, crushed red pepper, and minced garlic to pan; cook 1 minute, stirring occasionally. Stir in half-and-half and Gorgonzola cheese; cook 4 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring constantly. Stir in spinach and pasta; cook 2 minutes or until spinach wilts, tossing occasionally.

Farmer's Market Friday: Bell Peppers

With their crunchy texture and sharp flavor, bell peppers lend themselves to many excellent recipes as well as raw snacking. These brightly hued jewels of the farmer's market will be available in full force this weekend and for a few weeks to come, so pick some up while you can!

Though a rainbow of peppers will likely be available at your neighborhood market this weekend; red peppers, lighter and sweeter than their green and yellow siblings, are the best choice for the recipe below. Caribbean Shrimp Packets are a great pick for an easy September dinner - the weather is getting colder and you can feel just a hint of fall in the air - this will take you right back to your tropical vacation on the beach!

Caribbean Shrimp Packets

1 (15 oz.) can pineapple chunks

1 1/2 lb. medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 red pepper, diced

1 T. ginger

1 T. seafood seasoning

1/2 c. butter

1/4 c. brown sugar

1 1/2 T. lemon juice

Hot cooked rice

Preheat oven to 450. Tear off four pieces of aluminum foil, slightly larger than a sheet of notebook paper. Divide pineapple chunks into four equal portions and center on each sheet. Arrange divided shrimp over pineapple. Combine peppers, ginger, and seafood seasoning in a small bowl, then sprinkle over shrimp and pineapple. Top each foil sheet with butter and brown sugar, drizzle with lemon juice.

Bring up foil sides to seal packet, leaving room for heat to circulate during cooking. Place foil packets on a cookie sheet and slide into the oven, baking for 12-14 minutes. Serve each portion over hot cooked rice.