it's tomato Time

 August brings about one delicious thing - ripe tomatoes.It;s' the season for them, whether grown on a farm or in the backyard.There are so many recipes for them,from tomatoes provencale to ratatouille.Which is the best? Here are some.

Regular contributor and chef Ali Salgle gave a few good recipes and tip in yesterday's New York Times Wednesday Food section.She offers seven recipes that highlight flavor that can range from super sweet to even bland and bitter.One tip is to consider their size .She says tomatoes that resemble gumballs  like cherry grape and Sungolds will consistently be sweeter because of their small sizeThere is less space from water to dilute their flavor.They also have a higher peal to flesh ratio.This actually applies to larger tomatoes when they're cut into chunky wedges.They wont; turn mushy. Another must is amplify the acidity with lemon.In other words skip the vinegar in the dressing add lemon juice instead.This enhances the brightness of the tomatoes without being too overpowering.Also pair it with its' fellow fruit(u=yes tomatoes are a fruit)< Think peaches, pomegranates and melons to bring out the fruit's sweetness.In return the tomatoes acidity gives their sweetness a zing.Dairy also enhances a tomato's flavor.Think burrata or mozzarella. Ricotta ,Paremsan anc Cheddar also work well with any kind.

Can tomatoes be spices up or won;t that interfere with their taste? No! Ms Slagle recommends using chili crisp.Its' fatty, crunchy and spicy natures is a perfect foil to the tomatoes acidity.Salt cut tomatoes, letting their juice spill out onto a bowl or platter. Add the chili crispy for an oily, spiky burst of heat.Another idea is to grate them to emphasize  their deilciousness  according to fellow chef and Times writer Tejal Rao.Slice a large beefsteak in half and grate against the larger holes of a box grater.Sip it and add sugar or lemon  to bring out the g=flavor. Serve over bruschetta,.yogurt pasta and whatever else is tasty. Tomatoes can be baked low and slow too. Get rid of the moisture to produce a silly and savory slice This caramelizes the sugars inside and they can even be sticky . Ms.Slagle gives fours recipes perfect for the season.There is tomato and peach salad with whipped goat cheese along with an old fashioned tomato salad. A tasty lunch would be tomato cheddar toasts while dinner could be her tomato butter pasta. It's a great dish for early fall too.

Tomatoes are in season right now. Use these tips and recipes to use them  to their best advantage.They will bring out the tomatoes sweet flavors and silky texture.

Anthony Bourdain The Movie

 Rarely does a chef merit a movie.Even the great Auguste Escoffier has never made it to film. Yet Anthony Bourdain is now the subject of a new , interesting biopic.  His  life is definitely worth telling about.

The NY Times restaurant critic and regular contributor Pete Wells wrote about the new movie in today's New York Times Wednesday's Food section. The movie ,Tony comes out this Froday August 7th and starsDominc Cessa as the young and explosive chef to be. Antonio Banderas also stars as Chef, the one who teaches him about cooking The movie is set in Provincetown ,Massachusetts and it focuses squarely on his the kitchen rather than on the three summers that shaped his sensibility. This was mentioned din his own 2000 memoir. Before fame Bourdain;s  is still known in Provincetown according to Mr Wells. It wasn't;t hard for the young wild boy to fit into a  town on the very tip of Cape Cod. Save for the Portuguese speaking fisherman who emigrated from the Azores, the town was  known for it's art and gay culture scene.It was also a wild place similar to San Francisco's Haight-Asbury . It appealed to the young chef t o be who initially went with his girlfriend - later wife Nancy Pitkoksli. 

Spiritus Pizza was the hub of where he and his pals. hung out.It;still there serving pizza and hot and cold drinks.The owner,John Yingling's sister went to Vassar and she began bringing her circle of friends to Provincetown. Nancy worked at spirits ,brought Anthony along. He had the experiences only a teenager of the Seventies would have however he was quickly made a dishwasher. at a restaurant called The Flagship(it;s now a private home) he was happy here and the young writer found a purpose as he learned everything about the trade.His second hear there he applied at the restaurant for working at the broiler.He was awestruck by the chefs along with the new chef Ciriaco Cozi who also ran the town'smost popular restaurant Ciro's. The chefs disdained him which prompted him to study at the CIA, the Culinary Institute of America. Mr. Wells includes a recipe from that time  - a Portuguese kale soup rich with the spicy Portuguese sausage linguica - a cured spicy sausage.It also has  hamnocks beans and potatoes cooked in a beef broth. 

Will Tony be as interesting as any other biopic? It has the same rock and roll energy as Springsteen's and moodiness of Bob Dylan's . It ;s sure t be a delicious event.

And Cylospora Rages On

 It is not a good summer for veggie and fruit lovers. Thanks to Cylospora, that nasty little parasite , everyone's favorite produce is now off limits. What to do> What to avoid? f you eat carefully you can beat this.

Many people still don;t know what Cylospora is.They often confuse it with salmonella or food poisoning. As far as digestive track upset (and that's the  kindest that can be written about both) both can cause a lot of trouble. Yet Cylospora is a parasite - and it relies on only humans to thrive. Animals are free from it.On the surface of any herb,veggie or berry the parasites lie dormant in pods called oocytes.One hundred of them can fit comfortably on a pinhead .Once swallowed they trek through the esopha  gus, then  to the stomach and finally landing in the intestines. The pods respond to everything from gut signals to bile to digestive enzymes. The parasites go straight to the small intestine's lining where they take over the cells. They make copies of themselves; after awhile they form egg like and sperm like organisms which mess up the intestinal lining/ They reduce nutrient absorption which can cause massive diarrhea in foods and water. How people get the parasite is by ingesting water contaminated with them. Germany hands can also cause it which may explain the large contamination.Infected workers touch fresh;y picked produces and ;eave the tiny pods behind. 

What can you eat during this outbreak?Fresh salads are definitely off the table. Yet there are so many delicious veggie meals you can make.If you do want fresh lettuce get the heads as opposed to the bag mixes.Amy stores have pulled these, namely from Taylor Farms off their shelves. Get the heads and then scrub thoroughly in warn water for a few minutes. DO NOT use soap or bleach when washing.This will just  ruin the taste.Then pull off two to three out leaves (you can also go as high as four for extra safety).This also applies to cabbage too. Lettuce from our garden or even a neighbors'garden should be safe to eat whole.Saute ,grill or roast vegetables. Gazpacho should be put on hold this summer while tomatoes Provencale and ratatouille should be on dinner rotation. Used canned or frozen fruits and veggies for recipes Start foraging local fruit trees and forests for wild apples and strawberries. Buy thick skinned fruits like avocados, bananas and  anything citrus. The skins save the fruit from the Cylospora pods and these should be discarded right away.

How long will cylospora be with us? That's hard to say. Yet play  it safe. Cook safe and eat safe and you should be all right.

A Hot Spicy August

 The temps are going up this month. Why no turn up the heat on your summer cooking too? add some zesty spices to everything from barbecue to salads to even desserts.It''sa fun way to liven up sometimes bland sometimes boring griller fare.

Za'atar is a Middle Eastern must have.I'ts wonderful mixed with olive oil and drizzled on warm pita no matter what time of year.Yet you can easily put on it on chicken.First make a marinade with two tablespoons of the spice mix and three tablespoons of olive oil Make sure every part  of the chicken is coated for full flavor and then grill. It can also be used for steak too.Rub it on like a dry rub and then sear immediately on a hot grill.This would be good with pita to sop of the juices.Another use for it would b e in a tangy Middle Eastern salad dressing. Take a teaspoon of the mix and then blend it with a third of a cup of fresh lemon juice, and a third of a cup of olive oil. Fresh garlic or garlic powder can b e added. Vigorously whisk everything together. It can be served on fresh greens but also goes well on chilled broccoli, string beans or tomatoes.Keep in mind that this is great on grilled veggies too.Marinated all sorts soft veggie sin this and toss on a hot grill,Za atar is easy to make or you can buy a jar of it.

Berbere spice is another way to add heat and flavor to summer foods. What is berbere spice.Its the main flavoring in dishes from Ethiopia and Eritrea .It features chili peppers fenugreek and warm spice s like cinnamon , cloves all spice and nutmeg.It's a perfect flavor booster for both chicken and beef. For chicken add two tablespoons of the blend and a tablespoon of olive oil.A half teaspoon of black pepper can also be added for more fire. To make the meat incredibly moist add a tablespoon of plain Greek yogurt or lemon juice.Pat the chicken dry and then add the marinade.Let it sit on the meat for anywhere from fifteen to thirty minutes.Grill for thirty-five to forty-five minutes until the meat is thoroughly cook.Steaks can also benefit from berbere spice. Mix with three tablespoons of olive oil o r ghee and rub on the meat. Ancho chilis are also perfect mixed with olive oil and rubbed on such griller favorites like pork,chicken and beef.Use it in desserts .Add ground chili powder t o a blend of chocolate and heavy cream.This fiery ganache is perfect on strawberries.Serve it on pound cake or on vanilla ice cream for a sweet heat ending to your summer dinner.

Turn the heat up in your cooking this August. Add any of these zingy spice mixes to your barbecue or desserts.It a great way to zest up he average barbecue.

An Updated Pea Salad

 Can a family classic recipes be updated? Yes! there are some recipes that can be adapted to vegan lifestyles or just have new ingredients added for more flavor. It;sa fun way to carry on tradition while adding a new spin.

I did this with my Mom's pea salad. She combined peas and rice , adding cube of ham for savoriness and oomph. I decided to updat eit a bit.

There are still peas . Get the canned sweet ones, U=I used the Stop & Shop brand which are always good.]

My Mom;s version called for white rice - a riff on the classic Russian salad Yet supposed elbow macaroni was subbed in insread?

It needs to be mixed. The original recipe called for just mayo. Yet suppose if there was a dash of flavor - namely ranch dressing added in.

I added about three tablespoons of each, equally mixed to the salad.

My Mom also had cubed han in her pea salad .I thought , why not give it a vegan twist.I used Morning star plant based based to crumble over it.

I used eight sliced microwaved for four minutes to get extra crispy. These were crumbled into the salad.

I liked this updated recipe. The bacon really adds  to it as does the ranch dressing. It;s a nice blend of sweetness from the peas and the bacon;s saltiness. You can add julienned hands trips if you want a long with changing up the pasta to rotini.This is a great salad for barbecues and picnics.

Should recipes be updated? Yes.As with this salad , an update made it fresh and tastier. It;'s the perfect summer salad.

Dunkin;s Summer Of Treats

 August is a hot month so it;s going to be a time to treat yourself. This is where Dunkin Donuts comes in.They have so many new treats and some fun ones on the near horizon. Go for a cool sweet treat.

One of the ones that intrigued me is their new ice cream cake doughnut. It is supposed to be like aCarvel ice cream cake.

This has the chocolate cookie crumbles that makes the middle of the cake. This is on top of a blob of marshmallow buttercream (which to be honest would be perfect for a s'mores doughnut) The inside is a chocolate buttercream surrounded by the typical flaky dough.It is super sweet  -a fun treat with a good iced black DUnkin coffee. Dunkin is also offering chocolate crumble doughnut holes in dark chocolate.  These look tastier and perhaps less sweet than this.

Another fun offer is the buckets of drinks coming out on August 7th.It's $12.99 for a forty-eight ounce bucket of either cherry lime Rickey refresher, pink pineapple sparkling refresher and iced coffee with peanut butter swirl. These are perfect if you;re having a small get together or barbecue. I would love to have a bucket just filled with their iced decaf cappuccino with a huge shot of mocha.   There's even a bucket holder so it fits in your car's cup holder.It's in the signature Dunkin pink.  You can refill the buckets with anything after that Buy bags of the Dunkin coffee or the pods and make your own creations for it. This is also great for a long road trip.

Dunkin Donuts has n-some fun treats planned for August. Enjoy the ice cream cake doughnut or the bucket of either coffee or a refresher. It's worth a trip to your local DD.

Fun Food Full of Crunch And Noise

 There's something satisfying about crunchy food. It's the sound.There's fun in noisy food. Imagine combining that with nutritious ingredients for a fun meal/

New contributor and deputy food editor at the  New York TimesEmily Fleischakers gave three recipes in yesterday's Wednesday Food section. why do people like crunchy foods.Take a bite into an apple and get the answer. A crisp sounding fruit means its;s still good. A soft one signals rotting. According to Megan Povey, a food physics professor at the University of Leeds crunchy foods were received as being fresh because the cells were intact. Also people are conditioned to think of crunchy as fresh.It was done in a Pringles study back in 2004. Another theory comes from Charles Spences, one of that study's author and head of a research lab at The University of Oxford.People are just aware of crunchier foods in their mouth s than with a more silent one. It could d be that eating crunchy foods is just fun.Ms. Fleischakers looks to her New York Times contributors for recipes.Hetty Lu Mckinnon gives a mouthwatering fresh corn and black bean salad with corn chips.  This is definitely party food.Avocados and cilantro are also added to this and are dressed with a lime garlic and cumin dressing.A pinch of sugar balances it out. Hit sauce can be added for more zest/

The other recipe is an interesting. I'ts fromJ-Jaye Shackleford Hurley who has made it for her tail gating parties at Ole Miss - the University of Mississippi.It's a crunchy ramen broccoli slaw. This has the unexpected ingredient of ramen noodles There are towards of broccoli cut into florets, along with the equally crunchy carrots and purple cabbage>There are also red onions and almonds.The ramens are stirred in uncooked.Discard the flavor packers or save for another soup.The dressing is an Asian influenced one with soy sauce and a bit of sugar mixed in with oil and vinegar.Jeme Claiborne has her crispy tofu nuggets.It;s as good as the store bought ones.Take a block of extra firm tofu and wrap it into paper towels. Lay something heavy on it so all the excess water comes out.Mix dill pickle brine with tamari, oil and sugar.Pour this over the torn tofu chunk and mix well. Then add flour garlic powder. smoked paprika and  freshly ground pepper.Toss again to coat. Cook in a375 degree air fryer for twenty minutes. Flip the nuggets over halfway through cooking. These can also  be baked in a 375 degree oven for forty minutes.

These recipes certainly provide the crunch factor. They;re a great party foods .They full of flavor and full of noise.