I’ve been working all morning. The house is cleaned and the food prep is almost finished except for the things I need to put into the oven. I’ve decided to take a short respite in our air conditioned bedroom (yes, it’s 92*F and our house only has two small ACs…not in the kitchen area). So for all you curious, and all who have requested recipes, this post is for you.

I like to use what I have in my garden and from the organic local produce delivery I get each week. Last week, the delivery included a ton of blueberries, so I made the most extravagant blueberry soup (cold), that John just plotzed over. He really raved about it. I made enough to last three meals. you only need a small cup or bowl for an appetizer.

CHILLED BLUEBERRY SOUP

Ingredients:

• 2 cups blueberries
• 2 cups water
• 3 TBSP blue agave syrup (or maple)
• 1 orange, juiced
• 1 small cinnamon stick
• 1 TBSP corn starch

Wash blueberries and put in a pot along with the water, orange juice, cinnamon and syrup. Over a medium stove, bring to a gentle boil and let boil very gently until the blueberries start to break open and soften, about 15 minutes. In a small bowl, add the cornstarch to a half cup of water and stir until cornstarch is thoroughly dissolved. Take the soup off of the heat blend with an immersion blender until smooth. Stir in the corn starch mix. Whisk slowly over a low heat until the soup gets a bit thicker. Let cool down and pour in quart Mason jars. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Serve cold with a little heavy cream and a mint sprig.

So this is a really funny story. Two years ago, in Florida, my sister-in-law bought fresh field peas that you can only find in that particular part of the state at a particular time of year. They looked like a bag of very small black-eyed peas. In the Deep South, these field peas are usually slow cooked for hours with salt and a ham hock for a smoky flavor. She boiled hers with chopped onion and liquid smoke. Pam is vegan and I keep Kosher. It’s a good match. They were absolutely delicious. I reserved ten little naked beans, dried out, put them in my suitcase and last spring (2023) I planted them. From those ten, I got enough to have my “starter seed” for this year. I’ve been babying these plants like you wouldn’t believe.

We’ve gotten enough peas for two meals. I boil them gently with my onions, some salt, and liquid smoke for about three to four hours. Seriously amazing. I’ve got one more harvest from them coming in a couple weeks. Two days ago, we went to a shuk, one of those Middle Eastern markets for produce and spices, and what did I find?

I could not believe it!! I’ve been working so to grow them, and there they were. Because they only grow in this one tiny county in Northern Florida, right? Here, in Israel they are called lubia. Used mostly by the Lebanese, Druze and Persians I believe. I asked a few women at the market and they cook them in stews, whole pods (yikes!) with tomatoes and onions, okra, and olives and spices. When I tried to explain how I make them, I’m sure they thought Americans were completely crazy.

Tonight we are having fish…Denis and Amnon…straight from out of the Kinneret or Sea of Galilee. If I told people I have them marinating in a maple syrup and Dijon sauce with a shot of Kentucky whisky, they’d probably deport me. John will grill them late afternoon.

Because I’m swimming in fresh garden tomatoes and zucchini at present, I made a gorgeous dish last week, that I’ve repeated for the weekend. I’ll serve it hot as a side dish tonight, but will eat it cold for lunch with a salad tomorrow.

Tomato Zucchini Puff Pastry Italiano

Ingredients:

• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, defrosted
• 2 large zucchini, sliced vey thin
• 1 red onion, sliced very thin
• 4 large heirloom tomatoes, sliced
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
• 1 cup grated mozzarella, Gouda, or Muenster
• 1/4 cup chopped sun dried tomatoes in oil
• Italian seasoning mix

Line a jelly roll pan or lipped baking sheet with aluminum foil. Spray generously with olive oil. Spread dough outs onto pan. Layer the zucchini, onions, cheese, tomatoes, sun dried tomatoes, over dough. Reserve enough cheese for top. Sprinkle generously with Italian season mix. Sprinkle more cheese over top. Bake at 375*F/190*C on medium rack until pastry is puffed and cheese is melted. Cut into squares with a pizza cutter. Serve hot or cold.

This week we are having chilled melon soup as an appetizer. I didn’t get a photo yet. For the person who asked about watermelon soup, just purée 1/2 a melon in the food processor, and juice of 1 lime, squeezed and some chopped mint. It’s that simple.

Today I used what I got at the shuk. It looked like a cantaloupe on the outside but about twice as big. It was some sort of fragrant muskmelon. When I cut it open it was a greenish yellow, fully ripe. Go figure. I have no idea what anything is here, I just buy what is fresh and looks interesting or good. I used up a cup of strawberries I’d frozen… I grow strawberries too and get about 1/2 cup every day. What I don’t use, goes into the freezer for smoothies.

Strawberry Melon Soup

No cooking here-

Ingredients:

• 1 large cantaloupe, Persian, honeydew or Canary melon.
• 1 cup frozen strawberries
• 1 knob of ginger grated to get about 2 TBSP juice
• 1 orange
• 3 TBSP fresh mint, very finely chopped
• 1/4 cup Cointreau or Prosecco, optional

In food processor, place melon chunks, strawberries and mint. Process until fine purée. Pour into large bowl. Add juice of 1 orange, juice from the grated ginger. I squeeze the pulp until the juice flows out. If you want to be fancy, add the Cointreau (or Prosecco) for a nice flavor.

My last recipe is another favorite. To be honest, there are lots of foods John won’t even touch. Tabbouleh is one of them. It’s served everywhere here and everyone has their own special version. It’s green. It’s chopped parsley, basically. Some people add mint, cucumbers, bulgur, quinoa, scallions, lemon juice, olive oil. There are so many variations, but they are all off limits for my husband. A few weeks ago we went to a restaurant where we just had appetizers and salads. This variation of tabbouleh was served and I ate almost the entire dish. It was my absolute favorite of all the items served (nine in all). I finally prodded John enough to try a forkful. He loved it! We’ll be having it tonight as a side and again tomorrow with dinner….if there’s any left.

NOT YOUR AVERAGE TABBOULEH

Ingredients:

2 huge bunches of fresh parsley

1/2 bunch fresh mint

1 orange, squeezed

1/2 cup mixed nuts, roasted and chopped (I used almonds, peanuts, pecans and walnuts)

1/4 cup yellow raisins

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup chopped medjoul dates

3 TBSP silan (date syrup) or maple syrup

Wash and trim parsley so the woody stems are removed. Process in food processor until finely chopped. Remove to medium sized bowl. Wash and remove leaves from mint until you have about 1/2 a cup or a little more of packed leaves. Process in food processor until finely chopped. Remove to bowl. Add juice from squeezed orange. Add chopped nuts and dried fruit. Mix in silan or syrup. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Shabbat shalom & a great weekend to all-