Early June Bites

A few more recipes from this month:

Tortilla Roll-Ups

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

4 oz. can chopped green chiles

5 scallions, sliced

2 oz. can sliced olives

Flour tortillas

Mix everything but tortillas. Spread a light layer on each tortilla and roll tightly. These make a great dinner when you have about 15 minutes to change clothes, make dinner and get on the road for your women's spirituality group. You can slap 'em together, wrap in a paper towel & fling yourself out the door with a bottle of Dry lavender soda, a handful of Rainier cherries and some sugar snap peas, enjoying a tasty dinner in the car. They also make a fine breakfast.

Council Bluffs Morels

Oh, the indulgence of buying morels. I didn't go looking for them this year, but I stumbled upon them in Jungle Jim's & simply could not resist. I normally don't dig mushrooms one tiny bit, but I am pretty much helpless in the face of morels. And as far as I'm concerned, the only decent way to eat them is the way my grandmom (who was from Council Bluffs, Iowa) and my mom have always made them. We soak them in heavily salted water, generally overnight. Then, we pat them dry and dip them in beaten eggs before dredging them in saltine cracker crumbs. I reckon you could use another kind of cracker, dry breadcrumbs, cornmeal or even panko. I wouldn't but you could. Then, you let them sizzle in hot, melted butter until they're nicely browned and you eat them hot. Swoon. This was the only component to my dinner one night while my auntie and Andy were away at Jessie's SCAD graduation. Mercy, was it good!

Greenie Noodles

My great-grandma Mil's nickname was Greenie and green was her favorite color. I think she'd've loved these noodles:

Cook & drain 12 oz. extra-wide egg noodles. Throw in the following:

A bunch of chopped parsley (maybe a cup and a half)

About the same amount of chopped fresh spinach

A stick and a half of butter, in which has been cooked a few cloves of garlic (oh, yeah, goin' for the Paula Deen effect here)

About a half-cup each of shredded Parmesan & Romano cheeses (use good varieties...you'll be glad you did)

1 tsp. or so of salt

1 tsp. or so of basil (or chop up the fresh stuff and throw it in)

Mix well & eat with a big green salad and perhaps some garlic bread. Serves 4-6.

Fried Rice For Visiting Cousins

My cousin Jessie spent a couple nights with us between graduating magna cum laude and striking out for Bonnaroo. I made this for her the night we stayed up way too late laughing about nail polish color names and eating Jeni's Splendid Goat Cheese and Red Cherries ice cream. It's based on a Nigella Lawson recipe, but altered to the point where I don't expect she'd claim it. I didn't adore it, but everyone else seemed to like it and it sure made the house smell homey.

1 & 1/2 c. cooked Jasmine rice

A bunch of cooked shrimp

A smidge less cooked chicken

A cup or so of corn

1 tbsp. garlic oil

3 scallions, sliced

1 egg, beaten

Soy sauce

Mix the first 4 together. Heat the oil in a skillet or wok. Stir-fry the scallion a minute or so. Add the rice mixture. Stir well & briskly until hot. Add egg and stir cook half a minute. Scatter soy across the dish just before serving. Not too much, as you don't want it to get all soggy. Good with salad and orange Jell-o with mandarin oranges in. No food snob here.

Griots de Porc

This is a traditional Haitian recipe, similar to my beloved Cuban masitas de puerco. I skipped the traditional final fry. It was tender and yummy even without that step...and probably better for me! I am chicken of too much heat, so I used a jalapeno, but by all means use the more traditional Scotch Bonnet pepper if you like it hotter.

1 lb. pork loin, cut in 1" cubes

1/2 c. lime juice (I favor key limes myownself)

1/2 c. fresh orange juice

5 chives, minced

1 hot pepper, minced

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 large onion, minced

Salt & pepper, to taste

Mix everything but the pork together and marinate 4 hours or overnight. Put in a heavy, non-reactive pot. Add just enough cold water to cover. Bring to boil over medium heat. Simmer uncovered until liquid evaporates and all that is left is a thick sauce. Serve hot over rice with a salad of romaine or butter lettuce, sliced sweet onion and avocado chunks. I like to dress this salad with a simple vinaigrette made with olive oil, lime juice, a little garlic, salt & pepper.