AUGUST 'ALL-STARS' ~ GRILLED LEMON HERB STEAKS / ONION BLOSSOMS

"Heaven is under our feet

as well as over our heads."

- Henry David Thoreau

~ August 'All-Stars'

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GRILLED LEMON HERB STEAKS

~ Savory flavor for a simple holiday dinner adapted from Bon Appetit (July 1991)

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8 1 1/2-inch thick Porterhouse, New York Strips, or T-bone

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup lemon juice and zest

1/3 cup dry vermouth

4 Tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary (2 Tbsp. dried)

2 Tbsp. chopped fresh thyme (1 Tbsp. dried)

2 cloves minced garlic

1 Tbsp. brown sugar

freshly ground black pepper to taste

• Combine all ingredients and pour over steaks. Marinate several hours.
• Prepare grill. Allow steaks to rest 30 minutes at room temperature before grilling.
• Remove steaks from marinade. Sprinkle with a bit of coarse salt & freshly ground pepper to taste. Place marinade in saucepan and bring to boil. Simmer gently for 5 minutes.
• Grill steaks to desired donenesss, about 5-7 minutes per side for rare. Allow to rest before serving. Serve with remaining sauce.

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ONION BLOSSOMS

~ Perfect companion for grilled steak (the sumptuous flavor will haunt you) from Simply Perfect Grilling (1996)

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8 medium large sweet onions

2 Tbsp. melted butter

3 tsp. Dijon mustard

1/2 tsp. Tabasco sauce

2 Tbsp. brown sugar

freshly ground black pepper to taste

• Peel onions and cut almost through forming 8 wedges. Place onion on a square piece of heavy duty foil.
• Combine butter, mustard, and Tabasco sauce. Drizzle mixture over onions. Sprinkle with brown sugar. Bring up 2 opposite sides of foil and seal. Fold remaining ends to enclose each onion, leaving space for steam to build.
• Arrange on medium-high grill, cover and grill 25 minutes or till onions are nearly tender. Make a 2-inch slit in top of each packet. Cover and grill 10 minutes more or till onions are lightly browned. Sprinkle with pepper. Serve in packet or remove. (8 servings)

"God give me work, till my life shall end

And life, till my work is done."

~Epitaph of Winifred Holtby

'OH WHAT A BEAUTIFUL MORNING' ~ SUMMER BREAD PUDDING with WARM BERRY SAUCE

"The morn is up again,

the dewy morn,

With breath all incense,

and with cheek all bloom,

Laughing the clouds away with playful scorn,

And living as if earth contained no tomb,--

And glowing into day."

~ Lord Byron

~ Morning sky and August flowers

(Turtlehead, Rose of Sharon, Japanese astilbe, Ivy Geranium)

~ Coneflower and sky

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SUMMER BREAD PUDDING with WARM BERRY SAUCE

~ Delightful treat laden with plump berries, perfect for a summer day (from Pamela Morgan's Flavors)

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soft butter for baking dish

3 large eggs

1/4 cup sugar

2 cups half & half

1 cup whipping dream

1/4 cup fresh orange juice

2 Tbsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. minced orange zest

1 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg

8 cups (1-inch cubes) crustless day-old brad

1 12 cups quartered hulled fresh strawberries

1 1/2 cups blackberries

Confectioners' sugar

WARM BERRY SAUCE

• Position rack in middle of oven and preheat to 325-degrees. Lightly butter a 2 1/2 quart ovenproof serving dish abut 4 inches deep.
• Whisk eggs in large bowl. Whisk in sugar then half & half and cream. Whisk in orange juice, vanilla, orange zest, cinnamon and nutmeg.
• Scatter half the bread cubes over bottom of prepared dish. Scatter half the strawberries and half the blackberries over the bread cubes. Scatter remaining bread cubes over berries. Scatter remaining berries over bread cubes. Pour egg mixture over the bread cubes and berries. Lay a sheet of plastic wrap directly onto surface of pudding. Weight is with 2-3 small ramekins or saucers so bread is completely immersed in egg mixture. Let stand 10 minutes.
• Remove weights and plastic wrap. Set pudding in oven and bake until top is lightly browned and custard is set but not firm when dish is jiggles, 50-60 minutes. Let pudding rest for at least 10 minutes.
• Sift confectioners' sugar onto pudding and serve hot or warm, accompanied by the berry sauce. (6-8 servings)

WARM BERRY SAUCE

1 cup fresh blueberries

1 cup fresh raspberries

1 cup fresh blackberries

1 cup fresh strawberries

3 Tbsp. sugar

1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

(May use frozen berries)

• Combine berries in small nonreactive saucepan with sugar and lemon juice. (If using frozen berries, let stand until thawed).
• Bring to simmer over medium heat and cook, stirring 2-3 minutes or until juicy. (Can be prepared several hours ahead. Rewarm gently over low heat before serving)

~ Coneflower in clouds

~ Rose of Sharon in clouds

IT MUST BE MAGIC!

Sometime since I've been in the garden

I've looked up through the trees at the sky

and I have had a strange feeling of being happy

as if something were pushing and drawing and making me breathe fast.

Magic is always pushing and drawing

and making things out of nothing.

Everything is made out of Magic,

leaves and trees, flowers and birds, badgers and foxes

and squirrels and people.

So it must be all round us.

In this garden ~ in all the places.

~ Frances Hodgson Burnett

~ Early August magic

AS THE GARDEN GROWS ...

~ Early April

(as the garden grows)

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Say, on the noon when the half-sunny hours told that April was nigh,

And I upgathered and cast forth the snow from the crocus-border,

Fashioned and furbished the soil into a summer-seeming order,

Glowing in gladsome faith that I quickened the year thereby.

~ Thomas Hardy

MORE 'GREEN' to CHASE AWAY 'WINTER BLUES' ~ LINGUINE CARBONARA with GREEN PEAS

~ Green garden dreams

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LINGUINI CARBONARA with GREEN PEAS

~ Peas & pasta ... a perfect pair

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1 1/2 lb. linguine (or spaghetti)

2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

12 oz. pancetta (or lean bacon)

3 crushed cloves garlic

1 cup heavy cream

3 large oragnic egg yolks

1/2 -2/3 cup greshly grated Parmesan cheese

(additional for serving)

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

coarse salt

1 1/2 cup fresh or thawed frozen baby peas

freshly ground black pepper

• Bring large pot of water to boil.
• Meanwhile, in large deep skillet, saute garlic in olive oil until golden. Add pancetta and cook until golden and crisp. Transfer to a bowl.
• Pour off all but 4 tablespoons of fat from skillet. Add cream and bring to boil, scraping up brown bits from bottom. Pour into bowl. Whisk eggs yolks with warm cream and Parmesan cheese.
• Add salt to boiling water. Cook peas briefly, about 1 minute. Drain and reserve.
• Add linguini to pot and cook until al dente. Drain. Return pasta to pot and add cream mixture, pancetta, parsley and peas. Season with cracked pepper and toss lightly until sauce coats pasta.
• Transfer to bowls. Pass additional freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

GREEN ~ "THE PRIME COLOR OF THE WORLD ..."

"Green is the prime color of the world, and that from which its loveliness arises."

~ Pedro Calderon de la Barca

AUGUST BEAUTY

"I am the Rose of Sharon,

and the Lily of the Valleys."

- Song of Solomon 2. 1-17

~ Rose of Sharon

SIMPLE SUNDAY NIGHT SUMMER SUPPER (A Taste of Provence) ~ GRILLED SKIRT STEAK with ANCHOVY-OLIVE BUTTER / OVEN ROASTED RATATOUILLE

~ Early August garden

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GRILLED SKIRT STEAK with ANCHOVY-OLIVE BUTTER

~ Delicious bistro-style steak known as 'onglet' adapted from

PEDALING THROUGH PROVENCE COOKBOOK

*

2 lbs. skirt steak (or flank steak)

3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

2 Tbsp. herbs de Provence

1 Tbsp. finely chopped rosemary

sea salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste

Anchovy-Olive Butter

8 Tbsp. room temperature unsalted butter

8 drained and coarsely chopped anchovy fillets

1/4 cup pitted and coarsely chopped imported black olives

1 1/2 tsp. fresh thyme blossoms (in bloom) or finely chopped leaves

• Prepare grill.
• Place steak on platter and rub on both sides with olive oil. Sprinkle evenly on both sides with herbes of Provence, rosemary, salt & pepper. Let stand 10-15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, prepare anchovy-olive butter. Place butter in small bowl. Add anchovies and mash with fork. Blend in olives and thyme.
• Grill steak roughly 3-4 minutes per side for fare to medium-rare. Divide steak into four servings and top immediately with generous dollop of anchovy-olive butter. (4 servings)

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OVEN ROASTED RATATOUILLE

~ A simple taste of Provence

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1 minced clove garlic

3 large thinly sliced onions

4 seeded and quartered assorted colored roasted* peppers

(green, red, orange & yellow)

1 medium 1/4-inch sliced eggplant (Japanese preferable)

2 thinly sliced garlic cloves

3 small 1/4-inch sliced zucchini

2 small 1/4-inch sliced yellow squash

5-6 garden fresh sliced fat Roma tomatoes

coarse salt & coarsely cracked pepper

additional extra-virgin olive oil

1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme

1/2 cup slivered fresh basil

• * In 450-degree oven, roast pepper halves on foil-lined sheet, cut side down, about 15 minutes or until skin loosens. Cool slightly, peel and chop. Set aside.
• Sprinkle salt over zucchini, yellow squash, and eggplant. Let rest for 30 minutes and squeeze out excess water.
• Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in flameproof casserole or large oven-proof skillet. Saute garlic, being careful not to burn. Add onions and cook until translucent. Lift and set aside.
• Layer following vegetables alternately back into casserole or large skillet until all vegetable have been used. Salt & pepper each layer.
• First, sauteed onions & garlic, then roasted peppers, eggplant, sliced garlic, zucchini and yellow squash, and sliced tomatoes. Drizzle with additional olive oil. Sprinkle with fresh thyme and slivered basil.
• Roast lightly covered with foil at 350-degrees for 1 hour or until paring knife tests tender. Let juices rest at least 5 minutes before serving. (Even more delicious eaten the next day).

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Note: For the 'authentic' version of REMY'S RATATOUILLE

(Thomas Keller's CONFIT BYALDI)

featured in the delightful Disney movie, RATATOUILLE, visit:

(http://www.whittierdailynews.com/ci_6334231?source=most_emailed)