She likes (among other things) pasta with mushrooms, so I dug up a recipe from the latest “Joy” for porcini and red wine sauce. I think it turned out OK; I didn’t really get a chance to try it, as we were running out the door just as I was finishing the meal.

I also made a recipe from the latest issue of “Cook’s Illustrated” for roasted cauliflower. I love cauliflower, and this recipe looked simple, quick, and delicious all at the same time. Fortunately, it turned out to be all those things. Here it is:

• 1 medium head cauliflower (~2 lbs.)

• 1/r C. extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling

• Kosher salt and ground black pepper

Adjust the oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 475 degrees. Trim outer leaves of cauliflower and cut stem flush with bottom. Cut head into eight equal wedges so that the core and florets remain intact (see photo). Place the wedges cut side down on foil- or parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with 2 T. oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper; gently rub to evenly distribute oil and seasonings. Gently flip cauliflower and season other cut side with remaining 2 tablespoons oil, salt, and pepper.

Cover baking sheet tightly with foil and cook for 10 minutes. Remove foil and continue to roast until bottoms of cauliflower pieces are golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove sheet from oven, and, using spatula carefully flip wedges. Return sheet to oven and continue to roast until cauliflower is golden all over, 8 to 12 minutes longer. Season with salt and pepper to taste, drizzle with oil, and serve immediately.

I’m eager to get started on a couple of the entries. Between this and the online membership Kevin now has to Cook’s Illustrated, I’ll be set for the whole year.

Turkey Meatloaf

5 slices of firm bread
1 TB oil
1 onion chopped
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp fresh chopped basil
1 tsp pepper
1- 10 oz pkg frozen chopped spinach thawed
2 tsp lemon juice
2 lbs ground turkey meat (prefer ground breast if possible)
1/2 cup dark raisins
(optional: 1/2 cup ketchup, 2 TB melted butter)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat oil in a fry pan on medium and saute onion until tender. At the same time, break the bread into crumbs with your fingers. After onion is soft, remove from heat and set aside. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs with the milk, salt and pepper and basil.  Then mix in the bread, onion, turkey, spinach and lemon juice. Mix well with your hands. Add in the raisins as well. Turn mixture into a bake dish that has been greased. For color, you may choose to brush the top of the loaf with the ketchup but it has an intriguing look as it is. Bake for 30 minutes, then baste with the butter. Continue to bake for an additional 30-35 minutes, basting occasionally (I’ve always ended up cooking this for closer to two hours, so plan accordingly –ed.). Serves 6-8.

My mother-in-law makes a good version following a modified Cook’s Illustrated recipe (modified mostly to exclude garlic, which Leah can’t eat).  It goes a little something like this:

1.5 .lb tomatoes
1 .lb red peppers ( I used green which R says isn’t as good)
1 .lb cukes
1/2 sweet onion ( I used chives)
2 medium gloves of garlic (needless to say…)
2 tsps salt
1/3 cup sherry or wine vinegar
5 cups tomato juice ( they recommend Welchs)
1 tsp tobasco sauce (optional)

I added the t juice after I had the other stuff blended. Chill and add
about 1 tsp olive oil when serving

I also found a tasty-looking recipe in my “Joy…” that looks like it won’t disappoint.  I think I’ll make two big batches, one with garlic and jalapeno (the Joy version calls for an optional jalapeno), and one “unleaded” version.

Anyone out there have a favorite recipe they’d recommend?

Pictured above are some tasty treats from my garden. In the foreground are a couple Sun Gold cherry tomatoes, and in the back is a Sunsweet F1 cucumber. The Sunsweet was a surprise; I’d never seen one before, and at first I was sure we’d been sold some mutant seed. But they’re actually very good, once you get past their odd color and shape.

Eating the Sun Gold tomatoes is a pure joy. They have a bit of a citrus taste to them. I imagine I could go through a couple pounds of them before I even noticed what was happening.

Tonight for dinner I cut up a nice white onion, a couple of the Sun Golds, some standard cukes, and a big, beefy red tomato, and mixed it all in a bowl with some olive oil, sherry vinegar, pepper, and sea salt. Man, that stuff is good. It’s like eating spoonful after spoonful of summer.