Plum kuchen

This is based on a recipe given to me by Aunt Nellie, one of many that she touchingly wrote out by hand for me as wedding gift. She loved to cook, especially for friends and family, so whenever I make one of her recipes I feel like it's sort of a tribute to her and to all the wonderful meals we enjoyed with her.

Fresh plum kuchen
- 2-2.5 lbs (900-1200 g) fresh plums, rinsed, pitted and cut into fourths or sixths
- 1 1/4 c. all purpose flour
- 1/4 c. sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 c. butter or margarine
- 1 egg
- 1/4 c. milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Topping:

- 1/4 c sugar

- 1 tsp cinnamon

- 1/4 melted butter or margarine

Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). Grease a rectangular or oval baking dish (about 13 inches / 33 cm long).  Combine flour, 1/4 c. sugar, ingredients; cut butter or margarine into it as for pie crust.  Whisk together egg, milk and vanilla; add to flour-butter mixture and blend well. Batter will be very stiff. Using a spatula or rubber scraper, spread batter evenly over the bottom of the pan. Scatter plums over batter to cover completely.  Combine topping ingredients and spoon over plums. Bake for 30-40 minutes.

Breakfast parfait

This delicious fruit-yogurt-muesli parfait has been my staple breakfast this summer. Easy to make while not quite fully awake, and really refreshing, the fruit varies according to what's in season and on hand. The picture shows one of my favorite combinations: nectarine, banana and blueberries.

Not much of a recipe: layer muesli (preferably unsweetened), yogurt (I use apricot soy yogurt) and fresh fruit.

Grab a spoon and enjoy, preferably outside.

Celebrity fried rice

I don't usually think of People Magazine as a source for recipes, but this article caught my eye:  Hugh Jackman's Favorite Fried Rice Recipe.  The recipe looked good and straightforward, so I gave it a try.




The brown thing in the picture is not a bar of chocolate, it's slices of fried seitan which turned out disappointingly rubbery...







And in fact it was super delicious - Henry and I both gave it two thumbs up. The fried garlic and ginger with coarse salt gave great flavor and crunch; I want to try adding that to other recipes.  I used spring onions instead of leeks, but as we get in to the fall I'll definitely be making it again with leeks. I was a little short on leftover rice, so the vegetable/garnish to rice ratio was a bit high on the vegetable/garnish side, but that was not a bad thing at all.

Seafood pasta

While my sister and her family were visiting earlier this month, my brother-in-law Joe made this fantastic seafood pasta for us. It was such a delicious, festive meal that I felt I really had to try and learn to make it myself... otherwise we'd have to wait for months before we could enjoy it again. With a few pointers and tips by phone from Joe, the outcome of my first attempt was really very good -- not quite as amazing as the original, but pretty close, and definitely something to make again.

Joe's splendid seafood pasta

- about 500 g raw large shrimp (prawns), shelled and deveined

- about 400 g raw scallops, shelled and cleaned

- brine:

     - 1/4 c. sugar

     - 1/8 c. salt

     - 1 c. boiling water

     - bayleaf, a few peppercorns, pinch of dried thyme

     - ice cubes

- olive oil and butter

- about 2 c. sliced button mushrooms

- 5-6 cloves of garlic, pressed

- 1/4 - 1/2 tsp (to taste) finely minced hot chili pepper

- salt and pepper

- about 1.5 c dry white wine

- about 300 g raw mussels, shelled and cleaned

- (optional) grilled zucchini slices, pieces of roasted red pepper

- about 450 g small pasta shells (or other appropriate shape)

- handful of chopped flat leaf parsley

Start by making the brine for the prawns and scallops: combine boiling water with sugar, salt and seasonings, then cool by adding ice cubes. If using frozen seafood, partially thawed prawns and scallops can finish thawing in the brine, but the brine should not be warm (to avoid creating a bacteria bath). Put the prawns in the brine and refrigerate for 25-30 minutes; then drain, rinse, and dry with paper towels.  Do the same for the scallops (re-use the prawn brine or make a new batch), but let sit in the fridge for only 15-20 minutes.

Heat about 2 T of olive oil and 2 T of butter in a large skillet, until very hot.  Sear the scallops, without crowding them in the pan, for maximum 2 minutes on each side. Put scallops aside and sear the prawns in the same pan -- they will probably need less than two minutes on each side.  Do this in batches if needed to avoid crowding the prawns in the pan: a nice brown crust should be forming on the bottom of the pan; if the prawns are crowded together too much liquid will be released and the brown crust will disappear. Put seared prawns aside, turn the heat down a little, add some more olive oil and brown the mushrooms.  Add garlic and chili pepper, and season well with salt and pepper.  When the juices of the mushrooms start to evaporate, add white wine and let it bubble until it's reduced by nearly half.  The brown crust that was formed during the searing of the seafood should give a nice brown color and rich taste to the sauce. Add mussels and cover the pan; let cook for a couple of minutes. Then add the grilled zucchini and roasted red pepper pieces, if using, and the scallops and prawns. Stir everything together well, cover and let cook for another minute or two. Add chopped parsley, stir well again, and keep warm without cooking any further.

Cook pasta in well-salted water until al dente (don't overcook!), then toss with seafood+vegetable mixture and all of the liquid from the pan. Can sit on the stove covered over very low heat for another 10-15 minutes before serving.

Serves 6.

Notes:

- The brining and searing steps add a lot of flavor so they shouldn't be skipped.

- The zucchini and roasted red peppers are my addition; I grilled and roasted them ahead of time, just to add some more color/texture to the dish.  Joe used only mushrooms (and probably used more than 2 cups, maybe 3), and it was delicious that way too.

- Be careful not to overcook the seafood or pasta -- nothing should be rubbery or mushy!

- We found this to be surprisingly good the next day, reheated in the microwave.