Green Chile Cornbread

Our perfect spring weather has turned rainy and cold once again. I have decided to make the best of it and am starting this week's dinners off right with a cozy bean soup tonight and some yummy green chile cornbread.

I love making cornbread, it's just so simple and delicious. The flavor is rather neutral on its own, other than its inherent 'corny- ness', so it lends itself to a wide variety of mix-ins. Just change the flavor to suit your meal. I made it a couple of weeks ago with sundried tomatoes, basil, and fontina. Tonight I'm making it with green chiles and shredded jack to suit my mexican inspired dinner. Every which way you can dream up would be equally delicious. Do let me know what flavor combinations you come up with!

Green Chile Cornbread:

Yields 1, 9x9x2 square pan

1 cup brown rice flour

1 cup cornmeal (use medium grind here, not corn flour but not polenta)

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 TB baking powder

2 TB sugar

1 large egg

1/4 cup vegetable oil (canola or rice bran oil preferred)

1 cup lowfat buttermilk

1/4 cup milk

3 TB unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 cup Monterey Jack cheese, grated

1/2 cup corn kernels (frozen and not defrosted)

1, 2.25 oz can diced mild green chiles, drained

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray the baking pan and line with parchment.

2) In a large bowl, mix the flour, cornmeal, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and sugar. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg, oil, buttermilk, and milk. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry until just combined. Drizzle in the melted butter and fold gently to combine. Stir in the cheese, green chiles, and corn. Combine all the ingredients thoroughly but take care not to overmix.

3) Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread out to level surface. Bake until golden brown around the edges, 25-30 minutes. Serve warm.

Broccoli & Cheddar Quiche

I make Quiche often and in so many variations. I find it an excellent and elegant way to use up all the bits of vegetables and cheeses and the couple of eggs left in the fridge at the end of the week. I always seem to have scraps of frozen dough in my freezer as well so I can usually pull this together in very short order.

However, if you're not a baker like me and don't have a freezer full of dough scraps, you can always use a frozen pie crust or even a piece of frozen puff pastry for your crust. This week's quiche features broccoli and cheddar but it could just as easily be any other vegetable (or meat) that you prefer. Just substitute based on your taste in the same quantity as listed below.

You can also vary the texture of the custard by adding more or less milk. Sometimes I don't want a particularly 'custardy' quiche so I cut the milk way back or add the eggs without any milk at all. Doing so makes the quiche more like a fritatta, with a crust. You can however add up to 3/4 cup of milk or cream to the 3 eggs listed here, or any amount in between. The more milk you add, the softer and richer the filling will be.

For the Quiche:

Yields 1, 9" x 1" tart

10 oz Pate Brisee (recipe & instructions here)

1 medium onion, halved and thinly sliced, about 1 cup

2 medium heads broccoli, florets only, about 1.5 cups

1 medium beefsteak tomato, sliced into 5 rounds

1 cup grated sharp white cheddar cheese

3 large eggs

1/4- 3/4 cup whole milk or heavy cream

1 tsp Herbes de Provence

1/4 tsp red chili flakes

sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

1) Heat 1 TB olive oil in a large saute pan. Add the onion and saute until translucent, about 2-3 minutes. Add the broccoli, herbes de provence, red chili flakes, salt & pepper and continue cooking until the broccoli is bright green and just tender. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

2) Remove the crust from the refrigerator and line the bottom with parchment. Place a sheet of foil over the parchment and press both tightly into the bottom and sides of the tart pan. Bake the crust for 10-12 minutes until just parbaked. Remove the foil and parchment and set aside to cool for 5 minutes.

3) In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs and the milk or cream. Season with salt & pepper, set aside.

4) Sprinkle the bottom of the crust with half of the cheese. Add the cooked vegetables and spread out evenly across the bottom of the crust. Sprinkle the top with the remaining cheese. Pour the custard mixture over the veggies and cheese. Lay the tomato slices on top and nestle them down into the custard, just a bit.

5) Bake at 375 for 25-35 minutes until the custard is set and the quiche is golden brown. Let cool at least 10 minutes before slicing. Serve just warm or at room temperature.

Rhubarb & Strawberry Buckle

This recipe is straight from the pages of Gourmet magazine from several years back. I've made it a million times and my copy, torn from the original issue, is water stained and well used. Gourmet refers to this as a 'Pudding Cake' but I call it a 'Buckle'. The terms are really interchangeable I suppose, referring to any spoonable dessert featuring a pancake like batter spread over fruit. I think of it as a 'buckle' since the fruit sort of pushes up through the batter (buckling it, so to speak) as the cake cooks.

These types of simple, old-fashioned desserts are my absolute favorite. Buckles, crisps, cobblers, bettys... I love them all! They embody my idea of 'elegantly organic' food, featuring simple flavors and seasonal produce. They're incredibly beautiful in a very homey and casual way.

Adapt this recipe to any fruit that's in season. My husband loves anything strawberry-rhubarb, and since the first of season rhubarb made its debut at my Market this weekend, this combo was an easy choice. The harder tree fruits (quince, apples, pears....) should be stewed in this method first. The softer fruits (stone fruits, mangoes, berries...) can be added in fresh, just tossed in a little lemon juice, cornstarch, and sugar before baking.

To make the Buckle:

Yields 6 servings

1/4 cup water

1.5 tsp cornstarch

2/3 cup sugar

2 cups (about 10 oz) fresh rhubarb stalks, chopped into 1" pieces

1 cup (about 6 oz) fresh strawberries, chopped into 1" pieces

1 cup millet

1/75 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 large egg

1/2 cup whole milk

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

1 tsp vanilla

1) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Butter an 8" square baking dish.

2) Stir together water, cornstarch, and 1/3 cup sugar in a small saucepan, then stir in the rhubarb. Bring to a simmer, stirring constantly. Once simmering, stir occassionally until fruit just softens, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the strawberries.

3) Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and remaining sugar in a small bowl. In a larger bowl, whisk together milk, melted butter, egg, and vanilla. Whisk in the flour mixture until just combined.

4) Reserve 1/2 cup fruit mixture and spread the rest of the fruit mixture into the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Pour the batter over it, spreading evenly across the top. Drizzle the reserved fruit over the top of the batter.

5) Bake for about 25-30 minutes until the cake is golden brown fruit is bubbly, and a tester inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool at least 10 minutes before serving.

* Serve warm with creme fraiche or ice cream. Last week's recipe for Vanilla Honey Lavender ice cream would be divine. Enjoy!

Grilled Zucchini with Oregano

To me, zucchini represents the abundance of summer, which is one of the reasons I like it so much. It's also one of the reasons why I like to eat it during spring. I'm so anxious for summer to arrive with the warm weather and leisurely evenings of eating outdoors, that I just can't wait. Lucky for me that I can find good organic zucchini all year round in my market.

Let's be honest though, zucchini doesn't have much distinct flavor on its own. That actually can be a good thing as it lets the other flavors its paired with take center stage. This also makes it an incredibly versatile vegetable. It's liked by most everyone and there are a zillion yummy ways to prepare it.

I'm sharing one recipe here that's a simple side dish for almost anything. Grilling enhances the natural flavor and pleasant texture of the zucchini itself. It also pairs very well with oregano and this is a nice way to use all those fresh, green stalks of oregano emerging in my garden now.

Grilled Zucchini with Oregano & Feta:

Yields 4 servings

3 medium zucchini, about 1 #

2 TB fresh oregano, roughly chopped

2 oz Feta cheese, crumbled (French sheep's milk Feta preferred)

2 TB pine nuts, toasted

1 TB extra virgin olive oil

sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

1) Preheat a gas grill to 450 degrees. Slice the zucchini on the bias into about 1" thick x 3" long pieces. Sprinkle them with salt & pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Toss the zucchini around in the salt, pepper, and oil to coat well.

2) Place the zucchini on the grill and cook on one side, about 2-3 minutes, until well seared and they lift off the grill easily, without sticking. Flip them over and cook on the other side, about 2 minutes more until grill marks are present and they are cooked through but still a bit crisp.

3)Arrange them on a serving platter and sprinkle with the fresh oregano. Crumble the feta over top, sprinkle with the toasted pine nuts and drizzle with a touch more olive oil and a bit of salt & pepper. Enjoy!

Grilled Fish Tacos

We finally brought out the grill last night which I guess means that it's officially springtime. The weather certainly is cooperating. It's one of those beautiful clear & warm, yet crisp days outside where everything feels alive. That also means, by my estimation, that it's a perfect night for fish tacos!

I know I say that a lot of things are my 'favorite' but honestly, this is really really one of my very favorite things ever to eat. I could probably eat grilled fish tacos every night and never tire. It must be the Californian in me. I just can't go for too long without them. Oh yes, and a proper margarita to wash it all down is very important as well.

A firm white flesh fish is the best here as it holds up well both on the grill and in the tortilla. I found some lovely Ono yesterday, line caught off the San Diego coast. Other fishes like Halibut, Mahi Mahi or Opah would be equally good here. I like my tacos very simply garnished with lettuce, radishes, cilantro, avocado, and a bit of sour cream. In the summer I make a spicy and sweet stone fruit salsa with nectarines and plums, but I'm getting ahead of myself....

I'm including the recipe below for the version I'm making tonight but as always, use the technique as an inspiration for what looks best at your market and the flavors you favor.

Grilled Fish Tacos- Spring:

Yields 4 generous servings:

1 # white fleshed fish fillet (I used Ono)

8 corn tortillas

4 TB lowfat sour cream

4 radishes, very thinly sliced

8 leaves red butter lettuce

1 Haas avocado

10 springs Cilantro

1 TB Olive Oil

Sea Salt & freshly ground black pepper

1) Preheat the grill to 450 degrees. Brush the fish fillets with olive oil and sprinkle generously with salt & pepper. Place them on the grill, turning twice during cooking. Cook about 10-12 minutes until just cooked through yet still tender and flaky.

2) Meanwhile, slice the radishes and the avocado, and remove the leaves from the Cilantro stems. Heat the tortillas, either on the stove top or in the microwave.

3) When the fish is cooked, lay one lettuce leaf on each tortilla, place a few slices of grilled fish on top. Garnish with radishes, avocado, and sour cream. Enjoy!