Saturday, September 11, 2010

Roasting Peppers with Dad and a Visit to Whole Foods

Morning Glory's at the side of the neighbor's house

The Master Gardener!

Today started with me calling my dad and asking him what he was doing. Red peppers were on sale at Stop and Shop and he had to buy quite few. He was debating about frying them. I suggested roasting them in the oven. So off I went to see my dad. The peppers came out beautifully and they were so flavorful. They made a perfect sandwich for lunch.

Roasted Pepper Sandwich with the Fried Eggplant made by my dad.

While I was over his house we picked raspberries and figs and eggplant and the cutest little peppers.

Now on to dinner. I ran over to Whole Foods and picked up to steaks that were so big and so tender. There are leftovers which have been suggested that they reappear in a Caesar Salad.
We had grilled zucchini and yellow squash which I picked up at our local farmer stand, Jake's. Today was his last day for this season. I do have enough of his corn in the freezer so we will survive the winter.

To go with the steaks I found an interesting recipe, Bean Griddlecakes, from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything App which I have on my iTouch. Just last week I joined up with a blog entitled I Heart Cooking Clubs. Every week they give a category and you have to make a recipe or adapted a recipe for the chef that is being featured. Mark Bittman is the featured chef for the rest of this month. This week's title is "Damn That's Sexy." Okay here I go... Beans, not so sexy, but Bean Griddlecakes... now we are talking. Chris liked them. Enough said. I added fresh parsley and Parmesan Cheese to the recipe. It was a lovely addition to tonight's meal. Or should I say a sexy addition to tonight's meal.

Bean Griddlecakes (adapted from Mark Bittman's How To Cook Everything)
(I made half of this recipe)

2 cups canned Chickpeas, drained
1 cup milk
1 egg
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil. plus more for cooking the griddle cakes
1 cup all purpose flour
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Put the beans in a large bowl and mash them roughly with a fork. Use the fork to stir in the milk and egg, and the olive oil. Stir until the mixture is thoroughly combined. Add the flour and sprinkle with salt and pepper (keeping in mind how well seasoned the beans were to begin with). Stir with the fork just enough to fold in the flour, adding more milk if necessary to produce the consistence of a thick pancake batter.
Put a skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil. Work in batches, use a little more butter or oil to grease the cooking surface. Spoon on the batter to form 3- or 4-inch pancakes. Cook until bubbles form on the surface, then turn and cook the other side until golden, about 4 minutes per side.

While I was at my dad's I picked some figs! A couple of weeks ago my sister made these incredible stuffed figs. So I had to try them myself. I found a great recipe at TasteFoodBlog.com.
Wow they were good! The figs were perfect and the flavor from the rosemary and the sweetness of the honey was wonderful.

9 comments:

Debi said...

Okay on the I Heart Cooking Clubs, I was able to gaze upon this masterpiece. Nice find! :)
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__QLQ_8gu-5g/TIPjOlNh0hI/AAAAAAAAK7A/H36lxJf1yrs/s1600/Sawyer_Feast.png

Debi said...

Oh and your pictures are great. Sorry, I digressed above. :)

Lala said...

Oh it looks delicious. I am hungry now :)

xoxo lala

come and visit me
http://lala-tulpe.blogspot.com/

lucy said...

mamma mia che prelibatezze vedono i miei occhi e bellissime frittelle!bacioni

Debbie said...

Yum! I, too, love the pics!

Couscous & Consciousness said...

Lucia, wonderful photos, lovely to hear about cooking with your Dad (that is such a special thing to do), and your Bean Griddle Cakes look and sound fantastic.
Sue

Kim said...

I adore spending time with my Dad and it sounds like you all had a wonderful time and really good food! Everything looks so good. Those steaks look absolutely perfect!! I love the bean griddlecakes and definitely think they're sexy. Thanks for joining us at IHCC.

Deb in Hawaii said...

I am loving the Bittman app too--so handy to have.

The whole meal, especially the bean cakes looks very sexy to me! Welcome to IHCC--it is great to have you cooking along with us. ;-)

NKP said...

What a great bounty! And I love the little chickpea cakes, I'll have to try them soon!