Summer time is Tomato time! Specifically…Heirloom Tomatoes!
I grew up with these kinds of tomatoes as a kid.  Striped tomatoes, odd shaped tomatoes, tomatoes in nearly every color of the rainbow and then somewhere along the way tomatoes became standardized, boring and tasteless.  Thank goodness that Heirloom Produce is making a comeback, because you haven’t tasted a tomato until you’ve tasted a REAL tomato like an Heirloom variety.

I have been making one particular salad with fresh Heirloom Tomatoes now for over a decade.  In fact I feel like stepping back to Summer in the year 2006 just to show you a picture of this salad that has been my Summer signature and how it has remained virtually unchanged after all these years.

There isn’t really a recipe for how I make this salad.  It’s more of a process and a combination of ingredients and you add them all together to make this stunning little tomato stack that explodes with the tastes of Summer all over your tongue.

Now let’s step in to the present day, actually yesterday to be exact.  My guy knows that I am not one for jewelry and that I’d rather have a bottle of Truffle Oil over a bouquet of roses.  So he got me bags of some absolutely beautiful produce to play around with yesterday.  In those bags were gorgeous Heirloom Tomatoes – and this is what I did with them yesterday:

As you can see… not a whole lot has changed over the years, which just goes to show how this recipe has been a favored Summertime staple in our house.

Go check out Pike Place Market or your local Farmer’s Market right now, chances are the first Heirlooms of the season are making an appearance!

I love a condiment that you can use for many different applications.  Such is my Honey Ginger Glaze.  It works beautifully on meat, fish, veggies, fruit and Tofu.  It’s a perfect finish on anything grilled.  It takes an ordinary pork chop and turns it into an extraordinary glossy bite of gingery bliss.

I picked up some gorgeous boneless pork lion chops from the awesome guys over at The Swinery, in West Seattle and combined those with my glaze made with some Chamiso Honey that I ordered from the sweet folks at Grampa’s Honey.

Honey Ginger Glaze

• 1/2 cup Honey
• 1 1/2 Tablespoon Ginger, peeled and freshly grated
• 1/2 teaspoon Aji-Mirin (Sweet Cooking Rice Wine)
• 1/4 teaspoon Sesame Oil
• Juice of half a Lime

Combine everything together in a small bowl and simply whisk to combine.  Makes a little over 1/2 cup, and will keep for up to 1 week covered in the fridge.

Tips:
– Use a pastry brush to brush it on grill foods shortly before it finishes cooking.  If you put it on too early, flames and heat can cause the sugars in the glaze to burn.
– Try it on Fish, Tofu, Beef, Chicken, Pork, Duck, Fruits and Vegetables, it’s very versatile.
– You can use this glaze as a base for marinades and salad dressings.

Is it cold enough out there for you?

With the recent Arctic Blast that brought us snow yesterday and the below freezing temperatures I felt like making snowballs.  After going outside to wrap and protect my fruit trees and salvage what crisply frozen Winter greens I could from my garden I decided that it was too cold to stay outside and make snowballs.  So I went inside and made them there instead!

Now this cookie recipe is an age old recipe.  Who knows where it first originated as it goes by sooo many names such as: Mexican Wedding Cakes, Italian Butternuts, Russian Tea Cakes just to name a few.  But I have read that it is a cookie that has a history that dates back as far as the 18th century. I make these little balls of heaven every single year and over the years I have tweaked the standard recipe to create a lovely, nut filled shortbread type cookie that will melt in your mouth.  Mine includes ground almonds, instead of chopped pecans or walnuts and I like to use a Vanilla Bean with a couple little drops of Amaretto to really make the almond flavor sing.

It’s a super easy cookie to make and if you have little ones around they will have fun helping you to shape them into little balls, while keeping snug and warm during this Arctic Blast.  It also keeps really well.

For this recipe I use unsalted butter.  If you are going to use salted butter omit the salt.
Vegan & Lactose Sensitive – If you are vegan or  lactose intolerant, substitute the butter for Margarine. Please note that vegetable oil spreads will make these cookies spread out and flatten a bit.
Gluten Free – If you are gluten intolerant, substitute flour with your favorite GF All Purpose flour and add an additional 2 Tablespoons of water

Snowball Cookies

• 2 Sticks (1/2 Cup) unsalted Butter, softened
• 1/2 Powdered Sugar
• 1 Cup All Purpose Flour
• 1 Cup Cake Flour
• 1 Vanilla Bean, seeds scraped out
• 1 teaspoon Amaretto
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 1 Cup Almond Flour, or finely ground Almonds

For Dusting:

• 1 cup Powdered Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Cornstarch

Dusting Instructions:
Combine in a bowl and set aside

Snowball Cookie Instructions:
Using a mixer or by hand, cream together the butter and sugar.  Add the rest of the ingredients and mix together until they are all well combined.
Divide the dough in half and form two large balls.  Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and place them in the fridge to cool for at least 1 hour and as long as overnight.

Preheat oven to 350°, prepare baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper.
Now go get one of your chilled dough balls out of the refrigerator.  Begin shaping balls by rolling about 2 teaspoons worth of dough at a time into balls using your hands.  They should be just a little smaller than a walnut in the shell.  Place them about 1/2″ apart on a baking sheet (if you are using Margarine – place them 1″ apart).

Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until golden brown on the bottom, the tops will be a very pale golden brown.
Let them cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes, then transfer the cookies to the Powdered Sugar and Cornstarch that you made earlier.
Give them a gentle roll until they are well coated.
Reserve a little of the Dusting recipe to sift over the tops of the cookies right before serving.

Images by Kelly Cline ©2010 All Rights Reserved
All content, text and images are  ©2010 All Rights Reserved and may not be used or reposted without express written consent.

Every other week we have friends over for a night of playing games and snacks.  On our last gaming night I made up a batch of Herbed Mixed Nuts that were a big hit with everyone, so I thought… Hey, I’ll make another batch of those nuts!

The big running joke ever since then has been “You’re gunna love my nuts” and really… everyone will love your nuts.  These nuts are delicious and easy as pie to prepare.   They are also an awesome portable snack and an extra bonus is that this recipe is gluten free and vegan friendly!! Make a big batch as they go fast!  If you are interested in a drink that celebrates Seafair and the Blue Angels you really have to go check out ThirstQuest’s Seafair LemonBlueaid, so refreshing and a perfect pair with this recipe.  Just in time for your Seafair enjoyment, be safe out there and have a great time Seattle!

Herb Mixed Nuts

• 1 cup Raw Almonds
• 1 cup Raw Pecans
• 1 cup Raw Cashews
• 1 cup Raw Hazelnuts
• 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 2 Tablespoons fresh Rosemary, chopped or whole leaves – your preference
• 1/2 Teaspoon Coarse Ground Black Pepper
• 1/4 Teaspoon Red Chili Flake
• 1 Teaspoon Demerara Sugar (sub Light Brown Sugar)
• 1 Teaspoon Sea Salt
• Optional Add In: 1 Tablespoon Shaved Black Truffle

Over medium heat add everything into a large frying pan, Toss to coat the nuts completely with the oil and spice mixture.  Stirring constantly for about 7-10 minutes or just until the nuts are toasted. You will want to keep turning and stirring the nuts to prevent scorching or burning the nuts.  Once they are done put them in a bowl or a simple brown paper bag and they are done.  If you want to make them a little extra special you can shave a little Black Truffle over them while they are still warm.

A good indicator that your nuts are ready are the cashews.  Their light color will show you how far along the toasting process is.  Keep in mind that even when you take the nuts off the heat they will continue to keep on toasting, so take them off when you achieve a very light toast.

You will want to use RAW nuts for this recipe.  You can find those at PCC Natural Markets and at other places like Trader Joes.  The reason for the Raw Nuts is already toasted nuts will taste bitter and burnt, Raw Nuts will yield sweet, crunchy and nutty bites that will keep your hands dipping back into the snack bowl or bag.

Full disclosure: I have received no compensation from Trader Joes, Blue Angels,  Seafair or PCC Natural Markets for this article.

Images by Kelly Cline ©2010 All Rights Reserved
All content, text and images are  ©2010 All Rights Reserved and may not be used or reposted without express written consent.

Hummus is one of those dishes that carnivores and vegans can agree is a little chunk of heaven… in a dippable and spreadable form. I’ve been known to make a pretty mean and delicious Hummus (aka houmous, hommus, or humus). Everytime I get asked for the recipe people freak out that it is so easy to make. Around these parts to buy a small 10 oz. tub of Hummus dip will run you about $4.00 – $7.00 depending on who you get it from and how fancy shmancy the label is. This is bad for an addict of Hummus, like myself, so years ago I set out to find a recipe. I searched and searched and finally I found one, but after making it I was sorely disappointed in the results. So after having tweaked and twisted the recipe I came up with something that makes my eyes roll back in my head everytime I eat it while I literally sit here and go NOM NOM NOM.

Now aside from the control you have of making your own Hummus and flavoring it the way you like, the other advantage is that it only costs you about $2.00 to make about 2 1/2 cups worth of this delicious dip, even LESS if you do it from dried beans. It’s really good too if you make one of the variations like the Roasted Garlic or the Sun Dried Tomato and use it as a veggie dip for your crudites.

Hummus

• 3-4 Cloves Raw Garlic
• 1 1/2 cups of rehydrated, cooked Dry Garbanzo Beans or 1 15 oz. Can of Garbanzo Beans
• ¼ cup Extra Virgin Olive
• 4 tablespoons Tahini Paste
• ¼ teaspoon
• Sea Salt
• Juice of Half a Lemon
• 1 to 2 tablespoons Water (add more or less until desired consistency)
• Pinch of Cumin

Time to whip out your handy dandy food processor. Throw your garlic cloves in there and pulse them until they are minced up good. Now just throw the rest of the ingredients in and pulse it until everything is blended smooth. Make sure to dip in there and give it a taste and adjust to your liking Garnish it off with a sprinkle of Paprika or Parsley.  Serve it with a drizzle of Olive Oil, little squeeze of Lemon and Pita Wedges.

Roasted Garlic Variation: Replace the Garlic with about 8 cloves of Roasted Garlic.
Sun Dried Tomato Variation: Replace the Garlic with 1/8 cup oil cured Sun Dried Tomatoes.
Kalamata Olive Variation: Add 1/8 cup pitted Kalamata Olives.
Low Fat Variation: Cut the Oil back to 2 Tablespoons and increase the Water to 1/4 cup.
This stuff is awesome with pita wedges, falafel or even use it as a spread on a sandwich like you would Mayonaise. It is really delicious. Enjoy!

I’m going to share with you a secret little imported food haven that a friend of mine shared with me last year. Down by Safeco Field is a little hidden gem of a place called Big John’s PFI. It’s tucked away in the bottom of a brick building on 6th Avenue and it is the place to go for imported foods like tahini paste, pomegranate molasses, exquisite olive oils, halloumi, big pearl cous cous, pastas… I could just go on and on with the selection of items they have here for great prices that you would be hard pressed to find anywhere else. They have a selection of bulk dried peas and legumes, as well as an impressive selection of bulk spices, which make it the perfect go to spot for this recipe, you can pick up your tahini, olive oil, cumin and chick peas all in one stop! Don’t forget to sample their extensive selection of cow, sheep and goat’s milk cheese from around the world. It’s a specialty food lover’s delight in there!

Oooh this Summer has been a busy one, and now we are already in to Fall.  Good thing we preserved some of Summer’s gorgeous basil.  So what to do with all that lovely Basil Paste we just made a few weeks back? I’ve got a little something up my sleeve that puts an answer to that very question.  This time we are going for a bit of an unconventional twist on the classic Gremolata. 

Usually a classic Gremolata is a dry or sometimes wet combination of chopped parsley with citrus, garlic and salt.  Ours will be a little different thanks to the basil and a little wet thanks to the Olive Oil our Basil Paste base, but that’s okay because the flavor is sensational either way.  You certainly could use fresh Basil if you have some handy.  So what we will be creating here is Emerald Summer Sunshine on a spoon, my friends.

Basil Gremolata

• 2 Tablespoons Basil Paste or 1/2 Cup Fresh Basil Leaves, finely chopped
• 1 Teaspoon Garlic, finely minced
• Zest of 1/2 Lemon
• Twist or two of Fresh Cracked Pepper
• Pinch of Sea Salt

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix together thoroughly.

It just doesn’t get any easier than this.  This is amazing on fish, chicken, tofu, toasted baguettes, mixed into a vinaigrette or any other creative way you want to put it to use.