Raw!

Spring and summer are a great time to try out some raw food recipes. Not only is produce abundant but you'll likely be craving lighter, fresher meals. I saw this recipe in Food and Wine magazine and I increased and altered the quantities a bit. I haven't found any sweet corn out West that holds up to my Midwest sweet corn experiences, so I tried it with frozen sweet corn and it turned out just fine. Note, of course, that freezing food is considered destructive by raw foodies so if you're really into the whole gone raw thing, get fresh corn.

This is a really tasty soup, though be sure to blend it to your desired consistency. If you don't get it at least relatively smooth it just looks like pancake batter. You can reserve some of the corn kernels for a garnish, if that's your thing. It's really easy to make so I've found myself making a batch at the beginning of the week and taking it it to work for lunch.

Raw Sweet Corn and Cashew Soup
(serves 8)

8 large ears of sweet corn or two packages of frozen corn
4 c water
1 c raw cashews
1 large or 2 small cloves of garlic
6 tbs olive oil
3-4 tsp kosher salt
freshly ground pepper
handful of cilantro, chopped

1) Combine all ingredients and puree until smooth (food processor or blender/immersion blender).

2) Garnish with cilantro and serve.

Cantler's

Before we left for our Maryland trip I did a little crab house research, wanting to make the most of our short visit. Turns out that Cantler's, while heralded as the best cab house in Annapolis, manages to remain a well-kept secret. Maybe it's because just finding the place is cause for celebration (call for directions, there's a closed road and other exciting, map-defying antics).

We were seated on the porch which in fairer weather would have been open air. They had handily enclosed the place with a rather nice tent so we were able to enjoy the view of Mill Creek and the rainstorm. Everything had a very traditional, no fuss sort of feel with long rows of bare picnic tables, and the dark, reassuring interior that everyone is too quick to disdain in this time of modern decorating. It looked like a proper seafood place.

We started in on some hush puppies, which were excellent, and I quickly settled on some Maryland lump crab cakes. Adam opted for the Rockfish with crab imperial. Both were delicious, and there's really nothing like a proper Maryland crabcake - more crab, less cake.

Service was prompt and pleasant, the iced tea was bottomless and Cantler's was more than worth the trek.

Cantler's
458 Forest Beach Road
Annapolis, Maryland 21401
410.757.1311

Creamy Asparagus Soup

I have these vivid kid memories of my Mom taking me shopping and about midday we would stop at this cute, cottage-y lunch place for big chocolate chip cookies and a delicious soup lunch. I loved the asparagus soup there, and those are the flavors I've been chasing ever since. This recipe is my greatest victory so far, a real asparagus soup (which means if you don't like asparagus you won't like this).

It's important to get good, fresh asparagus both for the more obvious reason and because the more stalk you have to remove the more flavor and rich consistency you lose. The easiest way to determine which part of the woody stem is not to be eaten is to hold a piece with one hand just past the floret and the other on the root end, then bend gently. Anywhere from a quarter to a third of the stalk will break off. Reserve those root bits for the stock.

You can set aside the cheese for garnish if you like, but I prefer to integrate it and then just use a small sprinkling on top.

Creamy Asparagus Soup
(serves 8)

3 lbs + (about 3 bundles) fresh asparagus, trimmed and chopped(half-inch pieces)
8 c chicken stock
5 tbs butter
1 c shallots, diced
1 c leeks, white and pale green only, chopped
1 tbs garlic, minced
3/4 c heavy cream
1/4 c Parmesan, grated
pinch of red chili pepper flakes
few pinches kosher salt
few grinds of black pepper

1) Set a medium pot with the chicken stock over heat and bring to a boil, adding the stems of the asparagus that you've broken off. Simmer for half an hour, then discard the asparagus pieces.

2) Set a large pot/Dutch Oven over medium heat and melt the butter. Add the shallots, leeks, salt and pepper and cook for a few minutes (til tender).

3) Add the garlic and chili pepper and cook for half a minute then add the chopped asparagus and cook while stirring for two minutes or so.

4) Add the broth to the pot and simmer for twenty minutes (the asparagus should be tender).

5) Puree the soup until smooth, then add the cream and the Parmesan. Season to taste and serve.

Buttermilk Pie à la Hominy Grill

We recently got to take a trip down to Charleston, South Carolina. The main events were my brother, Tim's, graduation from The Citadel which was only topped by his Commissioning into the Marine Corps. as a Second Lieutenant. Somewhere in between we ate a lot of food and drank a lot of wine.

Shortly after deplaning Tim, Dianna, Mom and Dad whisked us away to the Hominy Grill, a very fun local place that illustrated its hearty reputation with a full house in mid afternoon.

While they featured delectables like collard greens, cheesy grits and a fantastic cucumber salad the bulk of the meal was outshone by their buttermilk pie.

Smooth, light and incredibly satisfying it's dead easy to make and a wonderful all-season dessert (though I vote for a summer evening with berries on top!). They make some recipes available online though they also have a small cookbook for sale.

Buttermilk Pie

1 c buttermilk, room temp
6 tbs unsltd btr, room temp
1 c sugar
2 eggs, separated
3 tbs flour
1 tbs lemon juice, freshly squeezed
1/2 tsp nutmeg, freshly grated
1/4 tsp salt
1 pre-baked 9", deep dish pie shell

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

1) Cream the butter and sugar then add teh egg yolks and mix til combined.

2) Add the flour, lemon juice, nutmeg and salt.

3) Continue mixing while slowly adding the buttermilk.

4) In a separate bowl whip the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Add a small amount of the buttermilk mixture to the whites and fold gently.

5) Gently fold the egg white mixture into the remaining buttermilk mixture.

6) Pour into the pie shell and bake until lightly browned and barely wiggling in the middle (about 50 minutes).

7) Let cool to slightly warm or room temperature, then serve!

Hominy Grill
207 Rutledge Avenue
Charleston, SC 29403
843.937.0930