Hey folks… it’s supposed to be nearing 100 degrees in New York City for the next few days so here’s my hat tip to Staying Cool.

Ready for the surprise?

Holy fruit! I just bit into a maraschino cherry!

And regarding the mulitcolorness: I think I’m setting the trend here because when I went to the Bloc Party show at McCarren Pool this Saturday (side note: awesome band, great show), I noticed something familiar about the front man’s shirt…

I think the recipe is pretty self explanatory, but here it is anyway: drop a maraschino cherry into popsicle mold, fill it one third of the way full with cranberry juice, let freeze. Repeat with 1/3 peach nectar, let freeze. Finish off with lemonade and another trip to the freezer. Use whatever colors/flavors you like. Couldn’t be more rainbow-rific.

I thought it was pretty interesting that last week the New York Times came out with a naeng-myun article one day after Slashfoods did a piece with a recipe for it - am I the only one who’s never heard of this dish before?!

The naeng-myun looked and sounded delicious so I made it my personal challenge to create a vanesscipe (easy vegetarian yummy recipe by Vanessa) for it. The obstacles to overcome were threefold:
1) an interesting vegetarian substitute for the beef brisket
2) a cold and tasty vegetarian broth
3) keeping it simple, but with enough flavors and ingredients to still be interesting and authentic(ish.)

What I did was substitute cold, sliced smoked tofu for the brisket to add a chewiness. I made my broth from bullion cubes + ice cubes… I actually prefer the taste of bullion cube broth to boxed (and I’m not apologizing, harrumph) AND it’s easier to get dehydrated cubes home from the grocery store. The sweet asian pear + spicy daikon radish + crunchy cucumber + chewy tofu make an interesting and refreshing combination with the cold but spicy sweet broth.

I highly recommend searching out the asian pear. It’s like biting into an icy sphere of flower honey. Pardon my poetics, just go try one.

Besides the noodles, which lose their shape after a while, this dish is easy to make in advance. I actually packed the whole thing up and brought it to the park for a picnic. Pack the veggies in one container, put the cold broth in another container or thermos, and coat the noodles in a little sesame oil so they don’t stick together and pack those separately too. Better than sandwiches, I promise!

Time: 30 minutes
Serves: 2

Noodles and Broth

2 bundles of buckwheat udon noodles
1 bullion cube (enough for 1 cup of bullion)
2 ice cubes
2 cups cold water
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp hot yellow mustard
1 Tbl vinegar
1 tsp sugar or honey
1 Tbl soy sauce

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Concept: a vegetarian muffaletta sandwich

Concept detailed: a big ole finger-lickin’ N’Orleans-style muffaletta sandwich starring a crispy-fried full-flavor artichoke “burger” base and some optional oozy melty cheese.

This is a big, strong sandwich and my “artichoke burger instead of meat” concept elicited some pretty strong reactions. Some folks were aghast that I would try to veg or veganize this classic sandwich, shaking their heads and warning not to mess with success. Well, I’m a messer. More forward-thinking folks thought it sounds gosh darn yummy. Others just got a kick out of the sandwich nickname “muff.”
Well, tradition be darned, you gotta get your inspiration from somewhere and I was in the mood for a giant sandwich. My version is a little heavier on the veggies than a traditional muff, but I’m all about sneaking some veggie goodness in whenever I can and I’m not apologizing.

By the way, it turned out terrific. It’s also perfect for a picnic.

Serves: Generous 4
Time: 50 minutes, or you can let the olive salad marinate overnight to make it even better

Olive Salad

16 oz jar green olives
8.5 oz jar black olives
5 stalks of celery
4 carrots
1 green pepper
2 Tbl capers
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp oregano
3 Tbl olive oil

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This is my third summer here in New York. This is also the third year I haven’t bought an air conditioner for my side of the apartment. It’s flipping hot in here! Here are some of my survival techniques to keep me from turning into a warm puddle of vanessagoo:

• A lot of water
• Iced coffee
• The ice cream truck
• Sunbathing at the park
• Wearing my bathing suit all weekend
• Spray bottles
• Whining about the heat in a blog post
• Trips to my local grocery – it’s truly like 60 degrees in there
• Cold showers + window fans
• And, of course, hanging out on The Sistaster’s side of the apartment. Right in front of the air conditioner.

Oh, and eating cold foods. I’ll start the dog days off right by sharing my recipes for a cool summer soup and a refreshing but hearty salad. I promise you’ll like them, even if you’re smart enough to have an air conditioner.

Time: 50 minutes, plus chilling time for the soup
Serves: 4

Chilled Avocado Parsley Soup

2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup packed chopped Italian parsley
juice of 2 limes
3 cups cold water (or half veggie broth)
3 avocados, peeled and quartered
1 tsp salt
1 small cucumber, cut into tiny dice (to serve

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It’s too hot to cook so imagine my excitement when my darling boyfriend Jerry told me we were leaving the big dirty city for a refreshing long weekend at a B ‘n B in the Catskills. Which was great. Except it wasn’t so much a romantic Bed and Breakfast as it was a room in a dorm for the friends and family of campers of a Latvian Lutheran Summer Camp.
But hey, we had a superfun time and became real wilderness people for a weekend: hiking, biking, canoeing, swinging… A big thanks to my new Latvian friend Alvis for being such a hoot- he’s a great host, big thinker, and looks cute in a bandana. Paldies!
So on to my recipe of the week: this is one for a barbeque potluck (at a Latvian Summer Camp or elsewhere) or just for a quick easy dinner when it’s too hot to cook anything too difficult. It’s a little bit inspired by some yummy olives we ate over the weekend, sort of like a pasta salad we had, and also modeled a bit on Rasols (Latvian Potato Salad.) BTW, there is some evidence that the largest salad ever was made in Latvia, but when I tried to confirm at the official Guinness Book of World Records site all I found out is that as a country Latvia has the largest shortage of men. Well guys, now you know where to go for your next long weekend.

Serves: 4
Time: 40 minutes

Red Pepper, Olive and Tofu Summer Pasta Salad

1 lb bowtie pasta (I used spinach flavored)
2 red peppers, diced
1 jar (5 oz) garlic stuffed green olives, cut into slices
1 bunch green onions, chopped
16 oz extra firm tofu, cut into ¼ inch cubes

Dressing

2 red chile peppers, minced
¼ packed cup fresh oregano, minced
3 Tbl red wine vinegar
3 Tbl olive oil
2 Tbl juice from the olive jar
½ tsp salt
fresh ground pepper

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