By Sidonie Maroon, The Food Co-op Culinary Educator, abluedotkitchen.com

Follow Sidonie on The Food Co-op’s Facebook group Cooking with the Co-op

Eating with the Seasons

It’s chilly in the mornings, Grandmother Summer is here, the time between high summer and early autumn. Tomatoes, potatoes, beets, onions, squashes, and pears to figs — I trust eating locally with the seasons; there’s a rhythm and satisfaction to cooking with produce at its peak.

Hats Off To Our Farmers

Our farmers have my deepest regards. It’s difficult to imagine, but the culture surrounding our farms didn’t exist twenty-five years ago. Yes, maybe earlier in the last century, but not when I arrived in 1994. It took dedicated people to create what we have, both visionaries and worker bees. With all my heart — from local grain, fruit, dairy, meat, honey, produce and cider — Thank You!

Invest in Cooking Skills

Help preserve our vibrant farm scene by cooking local year round. This is the work I’m passionate about. I want you to feel confident with a gnarly celeriac root and have five different approaches to preparing beets. In my world, quick and easy on a budget is only possible when you commit to cooking skills. You wouldn’t expect to play the piano without practice and lessons, so why would cooking be different? The solution isn’t to dumb down the culinary arts, it’s setting a higher standard.

Qualities of Extraordinary Cooks

1. Can always make something delicious out of nothing. They scan what they have, dig out their tricks and techniques and, with seamless magic, set to work.

2. They don’t need fancy ingredients or equipment, because it’s all about the approach, not the price.

3. They do easy on a budget with slights of hand; meaning they add the extra touches that will elevate the ordinary to the next level.

If you know an extraordinary cook, stay close. Ask them to teach you. I promise you won’t regret it.

Secret’s in the Sauce

A must for seasonal cooking and a changing menu are sauces. Think how you can vary a red sauce, or a pesto. Cream sauces are essential — dairy, tahini or coconut based. Sauces bring food together and we often understand the ethnic origin of a meal in its sauce. There are Asian dipping sauces, salsas, and the list goes on. If you want to keep meals delicious on a budget, invest in your sauce capacities.

Late Summer Sauces to Learn

Mushroom Sauce

Walnut Sauce

Tomato Sauces: fresh, grilled, roasted

Ancho Chili Sauce

Tomatillo Sauce

Aromatic White Sauce

Yogurt Tahini Sauce

A Useful Sauce— Mayonnaise

Despite what we’re led to believe, mayonnaise is a quick and simple sauce to make in the food processor, and homemade is superior to store bought. Once you’ve perfected the basic recipe, then a universe of variations arises. Be sure to whip up some apple and horseradish mayo. Yes, you read me right, it’s called sauce Suédoise — try it with Swedish meatballs.

My Basic Mayo Recipe

Add to a food processor: 2 egg yolks, ½ teaspoon sea salt, 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, 1 tablespoon lemon juice or apple cider vinegar. With the machine running, slowly pour, in a thin stream, ¾ to 1 cup of good quality salad oil (I use walnut or avocado oil.) It will thicken as you add the oil. Store in the refrigerator and use within 4 days.

Danish Style Remoulade

Makes 1 cup

Easy

I leave you with a recipe for Danish style remoulade. It’s a versatile mayonnaise based sauce with many applications, from open-faced sandwiches to crudites. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Base

2 egg yolks

1 teaspoon brown spicy mustard

½ teaspoon maple syrup

1 tablespoon lemon juice

¼ teaspoon sea salt

⅛ teaspoon black pepper

¼ teaspoon turmeric powder

¼ teaspoon anchovy fish sauce

1 teaspoon prepared horseradish sauce

½ cup salad oil (I use avocado oil, don’t use olive oil)

Additions

1 tablespoon dehydrated onion flakes

2 tablespoon minced dill pickles

2 tablespoon minced parsley

2 tablespoons sour cream

Directions

Assemble and prep ingredients.

Add base ingredients to a food processor. Slowly, with the machine running, pour the oil in a thin steady stream.

Add the additional ingredients and pulse briefly.

Store in the fridge for ½ hour to hydrate the onions and meld the flavors.

Use or keep refrigerated for up to 1 week.

Kale in Tomato Sauce

Serves 2

30 minutes

A fabulous way to introduce kale to the family. It’s saucy, mildly spicy and full of flavor.

Ingredients

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

1 large red onion, chopped

1 bunch kale, thinly sliced(chiffonade) then chopped in the other direction

1 tablespoon fresh oregano, minced

1 teaspoon red pepper powder

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 tablespoon dark whole cane sugar

3 cups tomato sauce, fresh or canned

½ cup sliced kalamata olives

2 tablespoons capers

½ cup sheep feta, crumbled

Directions

In a heavy-bottomed skillet, heat the olive oil on a medium heat. When warm, raise the heat to medium high and sauté the onions for 6 minutes, add the kale and continue to sauté for another 5 minutes.

Stir in oregano, sugar, salt and red pepper. Add the tomato sauce and reduce the heat to medium. Cook until the sauce is reduced, about 7 minutes. Taste and correct the flavors as needed. Serve as a side dish with feta, capers and olives.

Lime, Salt and Pepper Dipping Sauce

Serves 4

A delightful do-it-yourself condiment, to be mixed, as liked, by the diner at the table.

Ingredients

4 small limes, quartered

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

4 small red chilies, deseeded and thinly sliced

In small shallow bowls, divide the ingredients making heaps of the salt and pepper and arranging the limes and chilies alongside. Squeeze as much lime as liked into the salt and pepper bowl. Using chopsticks, mix some salt and pepper into the lime. Add the chili slices at the last moment.

Garlic Infused Mayonnaise

Makes ½ cup

20 minutes

Garlic infused avocado oil, with golden bits of chewy garlic make this a tasty sauce for potatoes or fish.

Ingredients

6 cloves garlic, take out any green center sprouts, chopped (wait 15 minutes before using)

½ cup avocado oil

½ teaspoon Maldon flaked sea salt

1 teaspoon dijon mustard

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon lemon zest

2 egg yolks, farm fresh if possible

Directions

Using a small saute pan, infuse the oil with garlic by bringing it up to medium low. The garlic should shimmer in the pan turning golden, but never burning. As soon as it shimmers, turn the heat down to low and infuse for 15 minutes.

Using a food processor, add sea salt, mustard, lemon juice, zest and egg yolks. Briefly pulse to bring the ingredients together. With the machine running, slowly, in a thin stream pour in the avocado oil with the garlic until the sauce thickens. It should use the complete ½ cup of oil. Keep refrigerated. The sauce will keep for one week.