Pantry Pie

The trouble with a biggish pantry is that it's too easy (for me) to fill up. With all sorts of items that I might need one day. With 2 or more of something I can't buy at Publix ... that I picked up in an Indian grocery store: chick pea or lentil or rice flours, tins of alphonso mangoes, lime pickle, poppadoms ... 3 bottles of my favorite olive oil that were on sale ... or whatever. There are items that have been there for a year ... or longer. I have been hanging on to a bottle of clam juice and a tin of clams for making a clam chowder for at least 3 years. That's ridiculous. Our freezers have a similar disease. I am terrible at labeling things with either the contents (left over soups for example) or the date. Every now and then I defrost something and occasionally I never figure out what it once was. One of my (everything but the) Kitchen Sink Soups maybe ... a curried something or another ... a completely unidentifiable ice cream.

It really is counter-intuitive of me to be doing this at the height of summer ... when there's an abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables, but this week I decided we are going to eat out of the fridge and the pantry and the freezer until they are all lean and I can scrub them all clean. Today I made a great start with an unexpectedly successful sour cherry custard tart made almost completely out of pantry items ... and 3 fresh HennyPenny eggs.

The pantry items:
An Arrowhead Mills Graham Cracker Crust

A can of pitted sour cherries and a can of sweetened condensed milk

HennyPenny are still pullets and their eggs are about 1 1/2 oz. each
2 regular eggs would be fine.

Set the oven to 350

Open both cans.
Strain the cherries carefully ... shake them to get as much of the juice out as possible but don't squeeze or press them ... and leave them in the sieve over the bowl to drain a little more.
Crack the eggs into a bowl and add half the can of sweetened condensed milk.
Whisk like crazy then add the cherry juice and whisk again.
It seemed very liquidy and I panicked momentarily - all for naught since it thickened nicely without any additional agents.
Sprinkle the cherries into the pie crust and pour over the cherry custard.
Cook for 40-50 minutes.
Test it by pressing with your finger - it should be soft and springy ... if there are any wet cracks leave it a little longer.
The custard was silky smooth, the crust still intact (not soggy) and the sour cherries deliciously bright in every bite.

Gazpacho Dos Colores√

Lori and Shirley came to dinner this evening and since they are so fond of gazpacho I decided to try out a new version on them. It was a triumph: delicious, refreshing and colorful.

Let's face it gazpacho is a trumped up salad. Finely chopped it's a labor of love to prepare. Blended it's a liquid salad you don't have to chew but the red and green blended together make for a muddy result - or the often-used day-old bread dulls any remaining bright colors. I decided to deconstruct it and make it in two parts - one green and one red ... and to serve it carefully to preserve the colors ... and to let my guests play with their soup - mixing the two parts ... or not. I couldn't work out how to serve them in a yin/yang shape but I got close!

The green gazpacho is fabulously delicate and smooth with just a little spice from the jalapeno (add more for a spicier soup). The red soup is fresh and light with a spicy finish from the garlic. The two complement each other beautifully and the garnish adds some welcome texture.

This gazpacho was such a spectacularly healthy way to start the meal that I ate the skin from the roast chicken without one shred of regret. Lori and Shirley's signature fruit salad ended a meal jumping in summer antioxidants!

Green Gazpacho
1 ripe avocado: half, remove seed and peel
1/2 English cucumber: wash and roughly chop
1 large green pepper: wash, de-seed and roughly chop
1 jalapeno pepper: wash and de-seed
1/2 cup chicken stock (or water) - or none for a thicker soup
1 slice of day old bread (trimmed of all crusts) or a boiled potato (1/4 cup)
1 small lime: juice
1 tbsp olive oil
salt to taste

Blend everything until smooth.
Be careful not to over-salt - start with 1/2 tsp. You can always add more. Cover and chill in the fridge for a good couple of hours.

Red Gazpacho
4-5 large, red, ripe tomatoes: skinned (dip in boiling water for 30 seconds and peel)
2 large red peppers: blister under the broiler and skin/de-seed saving the 'juices'
3-4 large cloves garlic (6 small cloves): peel
1/2 cup chicken stock or water (if your tomatoes are watery omit the stock )
1 slice of day old bread (trimmed of all crusts) or a boiled potato (1/4 cup)
1 tbsp olive oil
salt to taste

Blend everything until smooth.
Cover and chill in the fridge for a good couple of hours.

Garnishes/Optional Extras!
Small bunch of scallions: clean and chop finely
Parsley (or cilantro): wash and chop finely
Pour over a drizzle of very good, fruity or peppery olive oil.
Sprinkle over a little red wine, sherry or balsamic vinegar.
Serve with a bowlful of freshly made croutons.

We took Ziggy for a walk between the roast chicken and the fruit salad ... and Noodle joined along with us for part of it but pooped out after a bit. It's been a brutally hot summer ... 45 days and counting of temperatures in the mid to high 90s with up to 100% humidity. A brisk walk was out of the question but we all did our best to enjoy what passes for fresh air in this sauna we call home. On the way back this beautiful leaf showed up on the path ... totally the same colors as the soup. Sweet!

It's a gazpacho weekend!
Dinner at Marilyn and Susie's the day after this one and gazpacho is on the menu. What fun! A spicy redness all the more delicious for being served in a delicate glass. How beautiful.It had more texture than mine and I liked that. It made me want to remake mine without the stock. And strain the tomatoes. And to not blend it to smithereens but to let the texture of the tomatoes speak a little about their day.

Variations on the Theme
Another summer another year. This time Carmen and Joa came over so I replaced the chicken stock with water cos Joa doesn't eata da meata. And I wasn't sure about too much spice so I omitted the jalapeno as well. I added an extra avocado to the green one which made it so divinely smooth I couldn't stop wanting just one more spoonful. And so the (gazpacho) beat goes on!!!