Shattered Dreams and Smores!

All I wanna do is get the hell outta dodge. Instead I have been part of a weekly gathering called Beachwatch 2009 (dont even think of calling this a staycation). This week was a complete washout with a friend getting doored, wave after wave of thunderstorms impending doom upon the beach, and then that same person getting a flat on the way home in the middle of a torrential down pour. Shattered Dreams! This is all part of the game, apparently, we gotta take the good with the bad. Theres been a lot of bad though. Dont get me wrong, I love going to a different Chicago beach every weekend with friends. But sometimes you wanna REALLY get away to a far away land where you dont have to fantasize yr somewhere else.

Camping is the perfect summer trip. I know I dont have to sell you on that notion. Leave the city and all the techie shit behind for nature and wilderness, exploring, sleeping under the stars, campfires, and ultimate fun times. Every summer I go on at least one camping trip. This year time is running out! So, just in case I dont make it to this magical place (see right), I decided to make the tasty treat reserved just for camping. Yep thats right, smores! This is the best combo after a ruff day of hiking, biking, swimming, and whatnots. Why wouldnt you wanna settle down to sticky, gooey, melty deliciousness?

For the city slicker smore, I opted to test out some new fancy products and make my own grahm crackers. First off, the grahm crackers are a vegan, gluten free recipe that I used to make at The Balanced Kitchen. Whether or not you are vegan or gluten free these grahms are the best! So flavorful and a great texture/crumb. They are definitely a favorite. The dark chocolate bar I used was the Art Bar with quinoa crisp. Ithaca Fine Chocolates is Fair Trade Certified and organic. The Art Bars are all soy free and vegan. Bitchin! This chocolate is divine. Do yourself a favor and go buy some today (and no i didnt get any money to say that or free goods). Finally, the gooey gooeyness...marshies. I have never been a lover of marshmellows. Have you heard the werd? Dandies. Chicago Soy Dairy has developed an air puffed vegan marshmellow, which is pretty awesome. What better way to test out these babies than by making smores?! Duh. The outer texture seems a little strange at first bite, but when heated into a smore or cooked into a rice crispie bar! etc. this all melts away. The gooeyness is in full effect which is key. The taste is marshmellowy, as well as I can remember. Its been awhile since Ive had a real one.

All that is next is to assemble and wrap neatly like a little present in foil. Stick in the fire or if yr stuck at home, be a cheater and put it in the oven. If you want to be fancy like me and make yr own grahms, do it! Its worth the effort. Or contact me and I can whip you up a batch post haste. Seriously, its no trouble. This is what I do. Look at this shit.... You cant fuckin mess with these fuckin results.
(anyone else currently watching Deadwood?)

Plant Destroyer and Fresh Fava Beans

August is here and its a blistery 75F and overcast. Where is the humidity, heat and sunshine? I overheard someone say that the average temperature for July was only 69F. We should be knee deep in heirloom tomatoes by now but instead it is the summer of greens. Though we may be the lucky ones because the Northeast is seeing signs of late blight, which can completely wipe out an entire crop. Phytophthora infestans (plant destroyer in Latin) or late blight was responsible for the Irish potato famine in the 19th century. For more see this article on Civil Eats http://civileats.com/?s=cool+summer .

This summer is like the spring that never left. There are still many spring veggies going strong. This year I finally got around to trying fresh fava beans. I have tried seasoned dry ones and found them to be truly disgusting. Fresh favas are so awesome! They are the giants of the bean world, taking over with their fresh and slightly nutty taste, and are the most spectacular color spring green.

These guys are a little more work than your standard snap bean but well worth the effort. Here is what to look for: shiny firm pods and when the pod feels heavier than it looks, its a good sign it will be full of beans. Keep them in a plastic bag and refrigerated and use within a couple of days. To prepare, the pods must be opened the remove the beans. The inside is furry! Next you must blanch the beans in a pot of boiling water for 2 minutes and then immediately transfer into an ice bath. Then, one by one pop off the outer skin of each bean.

Now you can eat them as is or with a little lemon juice, olive oil, and salt. Or toss em with greens or grains. Something I encourage you to try is pureeing them with lemon juice, olive oil and garlic. It is an Egyptian dish called ful medames. I decided to make a simple and elegant dish. I really wanted to taste the favas, making them the center of attention. For inspiration I looked to Christina Pirello, Christina Cooks, who cooks whole foods in season.
Roasted Asparagus with Fresh Fava Beans

serves 4 to 6

• 1 shallot, finely minced
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• grated zest of 1 lemon
• 1 Tbl of balsamic vinegar
• sea salt
• 1# fresh fava beans, shelled (1 cup)
• 1 bunch of asparagus, tough ends snapped off
• 1 Tbl extra virgin olive oil

Place shallot, garlic, and lemon zest in a small bowl and add the vinegar and a pinch of salt. Toss to combine and set aside for 30 minutes to marinate.

Prepare the fava beans using the same method as noted above. Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook fava beans until crisp tender, about 2 to 3 minutes. Drain and cool in an ice water bath. Remove outer skins.

Preheat oven to 450F. Arrange the asparagus on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and salt. Roast, uncovered, for about 20 minutes, until slightly browned and tender.

Place oil and shallot mixture in a deep skillet over medium heat. Saute for 2 minutes. Stir in fava beans add a pinch of salt and toss to coat.

To serve, arrange asparagus on a plate and spoon fava bean mixture over the top. And maybe some quinoa on the side.