Recently Savored Meals

Courtesy of Mary Pat Lazzaro Werth and enjoyed at her beautiful home in the Finger Lakes region of NY, grilled jerk chicken, roasted veggies and an incredible salad of grilled peaches, bleu cheese and buttermilk dressing.

Even in the summer heat a dinner of homemade tomato soup and cheesey bread is hard to resist.

Dhal Version #1: Dhal, basmati rice with cumin seeds, sesame flatbread, romaine salad and curried nectarines.

Dhal Version #2: dhal, creamed spinach, zucchini cooked with tomatoes and green chilies, parsley salad and whole wheat dinner rolls.

Chicken mole, quinoa, coleslaw and watercress salad.

A favorite one-pot dish at Cafe Drake is a simple beef and turnip stew we improvised one day attempting to finish off a jar of Chu Hou paste. Brown 1 lb. of beef (or lamb) stew meat (cut into 1-inch cubes) in a T. or two of vegetable oil. Salt and pepper lightly and add to the pot: 2 T. Chu Hou paste and 2 chopped shallots and 2 minced cloves of garlic. Stir on medium heat for 1 minute then add: 2 T. rice wine, 2 cups water, 1 T. brown sugar, 2-3 peeled and roughly chopped carrots and 6-8 peeled turnips, cut into large pieces. Cover the pot, reduce heat and simmer gently for about 2 hours. When the meat is extremely tender, stir in 2 T. or more of soy sauce and adjust seasoning for sugar/salt. Garnish with slivered scallions and chopped cilantro and serve alongside brown or white rice.

We could make a meal of fresh dill pickles any day, especially those above from the kitchens of Cheshire Canning.