Cooking, Women’s Open. The Elephant Man.

Tuesday I most of the day cooking. We had potatoes left over from a dinner party, Matt mostly eats baking potatoes and I rarely eat them anyway. We also had some leeks which I hadn’t used for anything and I asked Matt to get me my missing parmesan, some cream, a few more leeks and some more chicken stock. With all this in hand I made Potage Parmentier which is leek and tomato soup with cream. This has to be blended before the cream is added. I also made the asparagus pesto which has to go into the processor. This all takes heaps of dish washing and I do not have a dishwasher. I really miss having one. For supper we had a bowl of the soup and some pesto on toast. Delicious. Trouble is, after all this kitchen activity, my back was screaming at me, I finally gave in, took pain killers and stretched out. I do so love getting old, I used to enjoy cooking so much more before standing gave me backache.. After all the asparagus soup I made on the weekend our freezer is getting pretty well loaded but of course I am running out of asparagus for yours truly to eat. Serious situation. I also found some new recipes too, the ones below and an asparagus one of which I had seen a picture before, but not the recipe.

Dunno how many of you follow golf, but an 11 yr. old, Lucy Li of California has qualified for the US Women’s Open in June. She is the youngest golfer to do so. Lucy hails from California – another golfer played at 10 yrs. old but there was no qualifier. The 11-year-old Li shot rounds of 74-68 on the par-72 Old Course on Monday. I am very impressed with her. Especially as we both were golfers at one time and had to quit. Matt still watches golf on TV.

Tuesday night we watched The Elephant Man. I hadn't intended watching it as I saw it years ago. However, Matt wanted to see it again so I ended up watching it too. It really is an incredible story. What a dreadful life John Merrick lived prior to being found by the doctor, Frederick Treves. John Hurt really did a fantastic job of the part. Checking it out, apparently his name was Joseph Merrick not John. Not sure why they changed it. I also found out that John Merrick was never treated as badly as shown in the movie and once in the hospital lived a short but uneventful life. Oh Well. It's a good movie.

When I saw these recipes they seemed so unusual to me that I couldn’t resist sharing them. They are originally from Cooking Light which is a great magazine. So today, you get two for the price of one.

Heirloom Tomato Salad with Tomato Granita

Yellow-red Mr. Stripey tomatoes give this ice a light hue. Use red or purple tomatoes if you want a darker granita, if you prefer. Mixing purple basil with deep-green Italian basil yields a nuanced flavor and a lovely garnish.

6 servings (serving size: about 3 tomato slices and 2 tablespoons granita)

Ingredients

• Granita:
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 8 ounces seeded peeled heirloom tomato

• Salad:
• 4 assorted heirloom tomatoes, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices (about 2 pounds)
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon thinly sliced fresh basil

Preparation

1. To prepare granita, place vinegar, oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and seeded peeled tomato in a blender or food processor; process until smooth. Place tomato mixture in an 8-inch square baking dish; cover and freeze until firm, stirring twice during first 2 hours. Remove mixture from freezer; scrape entire mixture with a fork until fluffy.
2. To prepare salad, arrange tomato slices on a platter. Sprinkle tomatoes with pepper and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Top with granita. Sprinkle with basil.

Here’s another one, very unusual.
 

Beefsteak Tomato Salad with Fried Tomato Skins

 

Ample beefsteak tomatoes are the ones you want to eat uncooked: They are fleshy, big, juicy, and so delicious. Saving the skins and frying them is a genius touch creating a beautiful garnish with bacony qualities

Yield: Serves 4 (serving size: about 2 cups)
Total: 20 Minutes
 

• 2 1/2 pounds beefsteak tomatoes in assorted colors (about 4)
• 5 tablespoons olive oil, divided  
• 3/8 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 2 cups baby arugula

Preparation

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Core tomatoes; discard cores. Place tomatoes in boiling water for 15 seconds. Plunge tomatoes into ice water; drain. Peel; arrange skins flat on a jelly-roll pan. Cut peeled tomatoes into 1/2-inch-thick slices; arrange on a platter.
2. Heat 1/4 cup oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add half of skins to oil; cook 2 minutes or until crisp, turning occasionally. Drain on a paper towel; repeat procedure with remaining skins. Discard oil in pan. Sprinkle skins with 1/8 teaspoon salt.
3. Drizzle tomatoes with remaining 1 tablespoon oil; sprinkle with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper. Top with tomato skins and arugula.

Have a great day