Thai Cabbage Salad and why I love bowls...

I love bowls.  Particularly hand thrown pottery. It has a soft, sturdy, personal feel.  

Bowls are the obvious and reliable vessel for soup, porridge, stew, curry.  But they can also feel smart and out of the ordinary for a large square of lasagna, or a piece of chocolate cake- with or without ice cream.   

To me, eating a salad on a plate feels frustrating and unwieldy.  There's bound to be some cabbage or a stray scallion on the floor if you attempt it.  But put that same heap of salad in a good sized bowl and the leaves will never topple overboard.  The sides of the bowl help you maneuver every last bit. The food feels cherished when eaten from a bowl.  As well  it should.

Thai Cabbage Salad

from Marlena Spieler's Hot and Spicy Cookbook 1985

I recommend serving immediately once the salad is dressed to avoid a soggy salad.  If you want to prepare the vegetables in advance simply wait to add the dressing.  Spicy, crunchy, fresh and summery. 

Serves 4 to 6

1/3 cup vegetable oil (I used peanut)

1/3 cup distilled white vinegar

3 tablespoons sugar

3 tablespoons soy sauce

1 cup chopped cilantro

1 to 2 tablespoons red salsa or 1 teaspoon chile-garlic paste

4 cloves garlic, chopped

2 serrano chiles, thinly sliced

1 head green cabbage, shredded or very thinly sliced

1/2 cucumber, peeled and diced

1/2 carrot, shredded

1 cup dry-roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped

5 green onions, chopped

1/2 red bell pepper for garnish

1. Combine oil, vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, cilantro salsa, garlic and chiles.

2. Pour the mixture over the cabbage, cucumber, and carrot. 

3. Toss with chopped peanuts, green onions and garnish with red bell peppers.  

Spicy Mango Black Bean Salad with Roasted Corn

In a few weeks, we will be in Massachusetts.  Applying sunscreen, bug repellent, rinsing out bathing suits, licking ice pops, splashing in a baby pool.  Waiting for the corn to grow as high as an elephant's eye, see our laundry blow in the breeze, feel the cool grass sneak up between my toes, slightly prickly but also sort of soft.  Natural grass, not the very manicured kind, a nice shade of green.

Dad is positioned by the grill, watching it all. We are definitely singing.  Maybe he throws on some kabobs with marinated shrimp, certainly a sausage or two.  "Janma" offers me a glass of chilled white wine.  She takes Ethan and bounces him on her lap, making him laugh with paddy cake.  Lisa and the cousins come over and beach balls fly in the yard.  The kids start a game of badminton.  Yes, we should do that this year.  Dirty feet climb up onto the deck for dinner.

Perhaps we'll get to stay up late enough to see the fireflies come out.  I wonder what time they appear.

Spicy Mango Black Bean Salad with Roasted Corn

Lime juice, cumin, cilantro and heat from jalapeño peppers make this salad highly satisfying for sophisticated (grown up) palates.  Enjoy with any grilled fish, chicken, or pork on a gorgeous summer night.

1/2 red onion (about 1/2 cup)

Juice of 1-2 limes

1 red pepper

2 jalapeño peppers (start with one, or go for two if you like a lot of heat)

2 ripe mangoes

1 can of black beans, rinsed

2 ears of fresh corn

1 handful of cilantro

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

2 Tablespoons of good olive oil

Dice the red onion and let it soak in the lime juice for several minutes.  Add the diced red peppers, jalapeño peppers (remove the seeds, or leave them in for full heat.) Cube the mangoes, add the rinsed beans.  Shuck and roast the corn either on a grill or grill pan for several minutes.  (If you can't do this, just microwave it for two minutes and run it under cold water to cool it.)  Cut the corn off the cobs and add to the salad.  Chop the cilantro, then stir it in with the cumin and salt.  Drizzle in the olive oil and stir to combine all the ingredients.  Serve immediately or chill slightly.  

A Simple No Bake Fruit Tart

We returned from a morning outing at the park and made this together, Roman and I, while baby Ethan crawled backwards and performed yoga poses.  He's figuring out motion.  I've been at a loss for words lately but I'm not ready to let And Baby Cakes Three die. So I'm offering this tart which is OK to eat for breakfast, but also wears the dessert hat nicely. It seems like summer on the East Coast will be another hot one, so please make and enjoy. There's no room for feelings of guilt.

Simple No Bake Fruit Tart
Inspired by a Nigella Lawson recipe
A truly versatile tart.  Instead of yogurt you could use lemon curd or chocolate pudding, and whatever fruit strikes your fancy.

10 graham crackers
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
2 yogurts (I suggest whole milk yogurt. I love Liberté brand which is made with milk and cream. I used one vanilla and one coconut but you can use whatever you like.)
Mixed seasonal fruit

Pulse the crackers in a food processor. Add the melted butter and continue to pulse. Use your hands to press the crushed crackers into a 1" tart pan with removable bottom. Place the crust in the freezer for at least an hour but preferably two. Fill with yogurt and top with fruit.