June | 2014 | Hot, Cheap & Easy

Archive | June, 2014

Sugar Snap Peas: Five Italian and Spanish Style Recipes You’ll Love

It is the season for sugar snap peas (Pisum sativum var. macrocarpon), and we have had a wonderful harvest of sugar snaps in our yard, and we expect more from Restoration Farm, our CSA.

Almost too ready for picking

So today I made a special sweet pea dish — Pasta with Chorizo and Peas – for my seven-year-old swee’pea who is in charge of peas at home, from planting to watering to harvesting (he gets assistance in stringing the poles as our peas need strings to climb on with their delicate tendrils. We buy sugar snap seeds from Botanical Interests).

Someone eats a lot of peas as he is harvesting. Someone’s mother doesn’t mind at all.

He collected peas between World Cup matches today and then we spent a companionable half hour shelling the peas and eating many of them as we watched Costa Rica play Greece in the World Cup and I put the water to boil. At halftime I made dinner to eat during the second half.

Quite a haul! We can freeze what we don’t use. But we’ll use it all before that happens.

So the following Pasta with Chorizo and Peas is a new recipe and below that you’ll find links to some of our perennial favorites: Spanish tortillas and Italian pastas. This recipe uses only the peas, but the pods are edible. I sliced the pea pods into my salad, as he doesn’t like those and I find them wonderfully crunchy and sweet.

Rich flavor that doesn’t overwhelm the peas.

Continue reading →

Tags: chorizo, gardening, seasonal recipes, sugar snap peas, summer recipes

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Categories CSA, Edible Long Island, farming, Food, gardening, Italian, Pasta, Recipes, Spanish, Tapas

Hurray for Sissy Drinks! (Two refreshing wine cocktails)

29 Jun

The summer is here. Here’s how to have wine on a summer Sunday without messing up your Monday!

Hot, Cheap & Easy

This summer has been too damn hot and (in my part of the world) humid for normal alcohol consumption. On a normal day, I am not a sipper. I am a gulper. Of water, of tea — hot or cold –, and wine, my beverage of choice. Add the hazy, hot, and humid factors and you would think that I was a camel, sucking up everything wet the oasis has to offer.

But that kind of hurry can’t be applied to alcohol. I would keel over and instead of being relaxing or fun, the scene would just get ugly. So in the summer, especially in this summer, I have resorted to what I like to call sissy drinks. Low alcohol, lots of non-alcoholic liquids added, over lots of ice.

You may laugh, you may make unfavorable references to the era of Bartles & James, wine coolers and the like, but…

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Seven Sweet and Spectacular Strawberry Recipes

28 Jun

This reblog comes as strawberry season is in full swing and includes a way to save strawberries on the edge…See also my latest blog post on Edible Long Island…

Hot, Cheap & Easy

As strawberry season is in full swing, I’ve collected for you some spectacularly simple recipes that take advantage of the season (and help salvage berries that have passed their prime!). This has been updated from six to seven!

Strawberry-Blueberry Mini-Muffins (click on image for recipe)

Berry Crisp – sweet and crunchy! (click image for recipe)

Strawberry Rhubarb Jam with no pectin and no preserving. A Hot, Cheap & Easy Top Five (click on image for recipe)

Strawberry Shortcake…a crowd pleaser! (click on image for recipe)

A Red White and Blue Berry Shortcake (with real whipped cream and simple white cake recipes)

Saving Sad Strawberries – by Roasting! Delicious jammy results (click on image for recipe)

And of course, the most refreshing sangrías include sliced strawberries!

Two of the three sangría recipes include strawberries! (click on image for recipes)

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Spicy Peach and Nectarine Salsa (for grilled chicken, fish or shrimp)

23 Jun

Between the World Cup, my son’s birthday, and all the crazy- end-of-school-year STUFF, I have not been blogging with my usual attention. And I have missed you! But in the last few days of entertaining and spectating, this peach and nectarine salsa (done quickly at half-time) has been sparking up the fantastic grilled chicken my dad has been charring to perfection.

A combination of over-ripe and not-quite ripe peaches and nectarines make for a terrific salsa

It is the result of buying a manager’s special of rejected peaches and nectarines on the cheap….You can substitute mango..in fact my mom thought it was mango! The important thing is the balance and excitement of sweet, citric, spicy and salty all at one go. Nancy, this one is for you…

This is done in five minutes!

Peach/Nectarine Spicy Salsa (for grilled chicken or shrimp)

1 Cup peeled and chopped peaches and nectarines

1 tsp red onion, chopped fine

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

½ tsp balsamic vinegar

1 pinch hot red pepper flakes

1 pinch salt

Mix together in a bowl and let sit for at least 15 minutes. Serve with grilled chicken, shrimp or sturdy white fish.

Tags: cooking, food, grilled chicken, grilled fish, nectarines, peaches, salsa, summer fruits

Comments 6 Comments
Categories BBQ, Entertaining, Food, Grilling, Recipes, Side Dishes, Vegan, Vegetarian

Red, White and Blue Shortcake in a (World) Cup

16 Jun

My son’s birthday this year happens to fall on the day of the U.S. National Soccer Team’s opening World Cup match against Ghana. So — being a soccer/fútbol mad family, this is like thematic heaven for us!

Between last night and this morning, I banged together class treats that were all red, white and blue, homemade and — while they include cake and whipped cream — also include generous portions of summer fruit.

Very tender and moist cake….

I like to think it strikes the right balance between healthy and sweet and it certainly reflects what is important to the little man today.

Pretty decent crumb!

And the fact that I put this much time and thought into it reflects 1) my semester finished and I have some extra time on my hands 2) I am indeed the food DIY maniac everyone thinks I am 3) I love this little man so much I want him to be proud of the treats he brought in!

Piled it up nice (and casually no…LOW FUSS!)

He went to school in his U.S. kit (with the non-playing Landon Donovan jersey, but never mind…I have to assume Klinsmann knows what he is doing) and seemed very pleased with the whole thing. He was down with a virus last week that has left him with painful bumps in his mouth….so I don’t know whether he’ll actually eat one, but he somehow managed to lick the whipping cream bowl clean all right this morning.

All tarted up for the big game

I include a link for the recipe for homemade whipped cream. I URGE you to try it…so much more fun and much more velvety and subtle…the kids around here love making it with the hand beater and eating it up! You can also make your own white cake (recipe for a very fluffy and tender one below) or substitute storebought poundcake. If you are going to make your own cake, I suggest you have a look at Paula Deen’s excellent Creaming 101 tutorial. Continue reading →

Tags: birthday ideas, cooking, food, Fourth of July, kids, party, recipes, U.S.A., whipped cream, white cake, World Cup

Comments 4 Comments
Categories baking, desserts, Entertaining, Food, Holidays, Party Snacks, Recipes

Kids in the Kitchen: Cub Scouts Make Pizza!

13 Jun

We love our Cub Scout pack (Theodore Roosevelt Council Pack 776) and our den (10!). We have done so many fun and enriching activities both indoors and out in this first year! Part of the reason I am sharing this event with you is in case you need ideas for a kids activity…just ask your local pizzeria.

Stretching the dough and spreading the sauce

One of the nearest and dearest Scouting excursions to my heart happened this past week as Scout mom, Melissa, organized a visit to a local pizza parlor and the boys made their own pizza!

Going for it!

No, they didn’t make the dough, and no it wasn’t whole wheat, multi-grain crust, or organic cheese and sauce, or free-range pork sausage…give me a break…

All hands on deck!

It was simply a local place that makes really nice pies giving the boys a chance to punch out a little pie into an oil-greased tin foil pie pan, slap on sauce and choose some toppings. The nice folks at Leonardo’s popped them in the brick oven, then: the boys ate their creations!

Serious business!

The joys and special satisfactions of DIY

They had such a ball, it inspired me (who you would think makes homemade pizza with my kid all the time but never has!) to give it a try some time soon. Maybe it will inspire those of you who have to come up with a fun indoor activity at a reasonable price (lunch included!).

Mangia, mangia! The proud pizza maker of the one pizza I really wanted to steal!!

Our hosts

So thanks to Leonardo’s Pizza & Restaurant for showing the boys how to put a pizza together (and charging just $6 each for a drink, a garlic knot, and the individual pizza with cheese and choice of sausage or pepperoni, or both). Thanks to Melissa for organizing and Meg and Moira for being such dedicated den leaders! It has been a really terrific year…

The professional pizza…with GARLIC KNOT CRUST…holy yumfest, Batman!

Tags: children, cooking, Cub Scouts, food, fun activities for kids, kids in the kitchen, pizza

Comments 5 Comments
Categories Food, Italian

Arroz con Habichuelas Rosadas (Puerto Rican Rice and Beans – authentic/how to fake them)

11 Jun

This has been trending lately….authentic rice and beans and how to fake them when you don’t have the right ingredients!

Hot, Cheap & Easy

Oh the sweet taste of victory!

My victory? My victory garden!

My little baby peppers

I managed to coax a couple of ajies (Capsicum chinense or sweet cooking peppers) from seeds that I saved from a pepper from my mom’s cousin’s kitchen garden in Mayaguez, to go with the recao (Eryngium foetidum or sawtooth coriander) that I grew from a seed packet from Puerto Rico. Next year I will be much more aggressive about how early I plant all my peppers, but for this year, the teeny-tiny-ness of my harvest does not diminish the absolute joy of it.

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Juicy Lamb and Beef Burgers

10 Jun

We love lamb in this house, from grandparents to grandkid. But admittedly, the more gamey flavor of lamb is not for everyone.

Dad, working with his very nice camera) photo by Pedro de Cuba

This recipe, put together by my dad, Pedro, master of burgers, mixes lamb and beef, so the flavor is more subtle.

Sub in green onion if you like! Photo by Pedro de Cuba

The curry and cumin provide a sweet headiness as does the garlic. Remember to turn just once on the grill and not to press down on them; you don’t want to squeeze out the juiciness!

Grill as you would a regular beef hamburger (don’t squeeze out the juices!) Photo by Pedro de Cuba

My son ate them on a bun with ketchup, while the rest of us had them as salad toppers with garbanzos. Give them a try! Awesome riff on a BBQ favorite.

Make em any shape you want! Photo by Pedro de Cuba

Lamb Burgers (makes 8 generous burgers)

1 lb ground lamb

1.5 lbs. ground beef

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium onion, chopped fine

1 egg, slightly beaten

1 Cup plain breadcrumbs

1 Tbs curry powder

1 tsp ground cumin

¼ tsp red pepper flakes (dried)

¼ tsp pepper

1 tsp salt

In a large bowl, mix all ingredients together thoroughly, but trying not to overwork the meat.

Divide into desired size of burger. Grill 4- 5 minutes on each side (don’t press down as you don’t want to lose the fat!) to desired doneness. Serve as you would regular hamburgers or serve as patties with couscous, veggies, yogurt sauce, in the Mediterranean style.

Tags: beef, burgers, cooking, food, lamb, Mediterranean, patties, recipes

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Categories BBQ, Food, Grilling, lunch, meat, Recipes

Mango Chimichurri Salsa (for grilled meats and seafood)

7 Jun

When it comes to camping food, go bold or go home is my motto. This is no time for subtlety.

Our delicious dinner

So, when Pedro (my dad) showed up at the campsite with some steaks last week. I was all in. He simply sprinkled salt and pepper on the steaks and got to grilling. His hint for you today is that starting with defrosted steaks still a bit cold in the center helps to keep the rare in medium rare when things start moving quickly on the charcoal grill. A fair bit of marbling on a steak is desirable, because you want that fat to melt and season the steak as opposed to drying out a leaner cut.

I decide to surprise everyone with a different sort of dressing for the steak: a mango chimichurri salsa, a riff on the parsley-based Argentinean salsa for steeak. Continue reading →

Tags: BBQ, camping, chimichurri, cooking, food, mango, recipes, salsa, steak

Comments 7 Comments
Categories BBQ, Camping, Comida Criolla, Entertaining, Food, meat, Recipes, Side Dishes, Vegan, Vegetarian

Finally! Long Island Wine in a Box

6 Jun

Alleluyah! A local solution to those summer activities where you can’t have glass bottles or glassware of any kind (think the pool, the hot tub, the camp site or the boat)!

The tasting room in East Hampton (see me in the window?)

I try to keep my food and beverages as local as I can (as local as my own backyard garden when possible), so it’s been a small frustration that on Long Island camping trips I have had to resort to boxed plonk from far-flung regions instead of drinking the local stuff. Ask and ye shall receive; I was very happy to learn that Lieb Cellars here on Long Island is now boxing their Bridge Lane blends.

I stopped by the East Hampton tasting room on my way to beach camping in Montauk last week, and was very pleased to walk out with a box of very tasty red and some bonus stemless govino shatterproof reusable glasses. Read about how it went with the Bridge Lane Red Blend here, in my latest blog post for Edible Long Island!

Thanks to Laura and Ron at the tasting room for helping me set up this shot!

P.S. This is not a paid endorsement nor did I receive any free stuff. It’s a true delight piece!

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¡Comida Hispana! Recipes to unleash your inner Latino

Mango Mojitos With Ancho Chili Salt

It was another summer Friday in the neighborhood and that called for another festive cocktail. Riding high on the success of last session’s passionfruit mojitos, I decided to make mango mojitos. The drink itself followed much the same construction, but the mango was decidedly sweeter than the passionfruit, so I decided that it needed a […]
Passionfruit Mojitos by the Pitcher or Glass

Summer evenings in the neighborhood can be wonderful. Occasionally on a Friday some of us neighbors bring out folding chairs and sit together in one front yard for a bit of happy hour while the kids go mental on someone else’s lawn. It’s pretty much BYO, but we do mix up a pitcher of experimental […]
KID IN THE KITCHEN: Tembleque (Tropical Coconut Pudding)

We spent the better part of last summer in Puerto Rico, and among the tasty things that my little guy fell in love with was tembleque, a jiggly (temblar means to tremble) dessert that falls somewhere between pudding and flan. I promised him we’d make it back in New York, and this weekend, for a […]
Sangría Tropical (and rainforest paradise pictures)

When the heat gets tropical, so should the drinks. On a recent trip to the mountains of Puerto Rico, I was inspired by a wonderfully cooling and exotic sangría I had up around and about El Yumque (Caribbean National Forest, the only tropical rainforest in the U.S. Forest Service system) at Noelia’s, recommended to us […]
Salmorejo de jueyes (Land Crab Stew)

There are a number of land crab species skittering about Caribbean coastlines. Some are edible and the one we eat most here in Puerto Rico (although I am told they mostly are imported from Venezuela these days) is Cardisoma guanhumi which we call juey and — if you are English-speaking — you might call the […]