Health Soup

So a little more complicated, a recipe from the New York Times. Delicious and worth pulling together. I’m finding lots of dried shiitakes these days at local farmers markets – a great way for the farmer to add value to shiitakes he/she might not have been able to sell fresh.

If you prefer, use instant dashi for the whole kombu/bonita flake thing. All available at Sevananda or wherever you buy such things.

Brazilian Chicken Salad Sandwich

This recipe came from Fine Cooking magazine, I don’t remember when! Makes 4 lovely sandwiches that will serve up some of your beets and cilantro. The recipe suggests whole wheat bread, but any loaf of bread that’s handy, sub roll, baguette …. will do. The combination of salty, tart, sweet and herbal – fabulous.

Grilled Fish with Charred Corn Salsa

This recipe from Christopher Rochelle is a little lengthy, but that’s because of his complete directions for making little fish and seasoning parcels for the grill. I love the idea of using those lovely organic corn husks and maybe you’re up for a little experimentation in the kitchen this week. Fresh corn husks are much better for grilling than the dried husks sold for tamale making. Use a firm white fish like halibut or cod.

Lemongrass Pork Sandwich

And finally, my plan for the daikon is to adapt this recipe. I was introduced to Lee’s Bakery on Buford Highway which the New York Times once declared had Atlanta’s best banh mi sandwiches. I don’t know about that, but I do know they sell their crusty rolls for 30 cents each. I bought a bag full. I’ve been growing lemongrass in a container and so will finally harvest my first stalk.

Grilled Naan Filled with Herbs and Cheese

Now to that big bunch of cilantro. I admit, I had some cilantro left over from last week. So, I combined the leaves from both bunches, and made this delicious grilled bread. I actually cooked my bread on a griddle indoors since I wasn’t in the mood to go outside and fight off the mosquitoes last night. Turned out perfectly.

No tricky yeast, the dough goes together quickly and rolls out perfectly. The recipe is from Fine Cooking. Substitute basil for the cilantro if you wish, or combine basil and cilantro. It’s all good.

Tomato-Mango Chutney

I like this idea from Splendid Table, a chutney of tomatoes and mangoes. There are lots of ideas for fresh chutneys around, almost as many as there are salsa recipes, but it’s been a while since I thought about tomatoes for a fresh chutney. If you look through Indian cookbooks, you can find cooked tomato chutney recipes as well. The folks at Splendid Table offered this idea as an accompaniment to grilled burgers, but I’d love it with any grilled meat or Indian-flavored stir fry. Use all tomatoes if you don’t have fruit on hand.