Earlier this week the Accidental Locavoregot some beautiful loin lamb chops. Since there was still a little of the yogurt I made last week in the fridge, I thought I’d marinate the chops in the yogurt. Yogurt tenderizes meat, something Indians have known for a long time. Here’s what I used, it will look like a lot of spices, but I had them on hand. Use what you’ve got, and what you like.
This made more than enough marinade for 5 loin lamb chops. You can also use it for a butterflied leg of lamb.
1 cup full fat yogurt
2 garlic cloves, peeled and grated into the yogurt
Zest and juice of 1 lime, and another cut in half to grill
Salt and pepper
1 TSP cumin
1 TSP ground ginger (some fresh grated in would be good too)
1 TSP smoked paprika
1 TSP lemon curry powder
1 TSP allspice
1/2 TSP turmeric
1/2 TSP ground cinnamon
1/2 TSP garam masala
Mix everything together, taste and adjust the seasonings. Pour over lamb chops in either a covered dish or a zip-lock bag. Make sure lamb is well coated. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
About 1/2 hour before cooking, remove from the refrigerator, and let come to room temperature. Heat a grill, grill pan, or broiler. Remove the lamb from the marinade and shake off any excess marinade. Grill the lamb chops until medium rare, about 6 minutes a side. I like to halve a lime and grill it with the lamb, cut side down. It’s great squeezed over the meat.
You can tell if the meat is done by poking them with your finger. It should be a little firm to the touch. Take your second finger of your right hand and touch the thumb of the same hand. With your second finger of the left hand, poke the fleshy part below the thumb/second finger of the right hand. That’s how your meat should feel for medium rare.
If you’re like the Accidental Locavore, you probably haven’t given pimentos much thought. They’re the little red things inside green olives, n’est pas? Correct, but how did they get there, and what do they look like? In this week’s farmbasket, there was a quartet of pimentos, along with a little note: “we’repimentos, roast us“. It’s hard to spot in this photo, but behind the cranberry beans. there’s a little green stem, that’s one of the pimentos. They look a little like a persimmon, but bright red, heavy and firm.
Since sometimes, I do what I’m told, I roasted them on the grill until the skins wereblackened and they were tender. Then put them in a bowl with a piece of saran wrap tightly over it, to steam off the skins (this works for roasting all peppers, so remember it) and let them sit for about 1/2 hour. Then I took the skin off, cut out the center and seeds, and cut them into strips. They’re currently in a jar with some olive oil, awaiting a salad, sandwich, or even a cocktail olive…
As you can see from the photo, I got a mess of cranberry beans. Anyone have a good recipe for them?
Also in this week’s basket, the first cantaloupe of the season which I am going to finish as soon as I post this. It’s perfect, and so good! Corn, tomatoes, including the first of the heirlooms, salad greens, romaine lettuce, little round squashes, yellow and green, tiny potatoes, possibly corrolas, a beautiful purple cabbage, zucchini and summer squash, and a bunch of basil with the biggest leaves I’ve ever seen!
Don’t forget to send me your ideas for the cranberry beans!
On Friday, my first attempt at pickling, check it out.
Here, the Accidental Locavoreshows you three easy, quick and delicious ways to cook any kind of zucchini or summer squash. The best part is you can do them in the microwave, oven or grill.
Makes 1 package per person.
Basic Recipe: • Take some small zucchini or summer squash, 1 per person, and cut the ends off.
• Place each squash on a piece of parchment paper.
• Drizzle a small amount of olive oil, use the good stuff here, over the squash.
• Add a sprig or two of thyme, and sprinkle with sea salt (also time for the good stuff, I like Maldon here).
• Fold the top of the parchment up, and fold in or twist the ends to make a packet.
• Put in the microwave for 5 minutes (depending on the strength of your oven) until tender.
• You can also bake them on a cookie sheet in the regular oven at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes until tender.
• If you use aluminum foil instead of the parchment, you can grill them for about 20 minutes. Serve them in their packets, or remove and slice for presentation.
Greek Variation: • Take some small zucchini or summer squash, 1 per person, and cut the ends off.
• Cut a slit lengthwise down the squash almost cutting it in half.
• Place each squash on a piece of parchment paper.
• Crumble some feta cheese over the zucchini.
• Drizzle a small amount of olive oil, use the good stuff here, over the squash.
• Sprinkle with some fresh mint, cut into narrow strips (chiffonade), and a little sea salt (go easy on the salt, as the feta is pretty salty).
• Fold and cook as the basic recipe.
Mexican Variation:
• Take some small zucchini or summer squash, 1 per person, and cut the ends off.
• Cut a slit lengthwise down the squash almost cutting it in half.
• Place each squash on a piece of parchment paper.
• Crumble some queso fresco, or goat cheese over the squash.
• Drizzle a small amount of olive oil, use the good stuff here, over the squash.
• Sprinkle with some chopped cilantro, and sea salt.
• If you like a little heat, add some finely diced jalapeno or serrano chiles.
• Fold and cook as the basic recipe.
Finally corn! The Accidental Locavorewas hoping there would be some in the box this week, and there it was! I’m soaking it and tossing it on the grill husks and all. The other good quick way to do corn, is to cut off the ends, peel a few layers of husk, and pop in the microwave. Takes about 2 minutes an ear depending on your microwave and the number of ears.
Along with the corn, green peppers, green beans, radishes, beets, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, summer squash, and a big cabbage. On Friday I’ll give you my recipe for Turkish inspired stuffed cabbage.
My husband was asking about pickling the beets, so I boiled them until tender. Peeled and sliced them. Put them in a bowl with:
Red wine vinegar
Sliced red onion
A little olive oil, salt and pepper
Two hard boiled eggs (shelled and whole).
He added more vinegar, as I can’t stand beets, so wasn’t able to taste them. Hey, I’ll cook them but don’t ask me to eat them!
There’s a lot of zucchini, and squash. I may stuff some of them, but one of my favorite ways to cook them is really simple:
Take some small zucchini or summer squash, and cut the ends off
Place each squash on a small piece of parchment paper
Drizzle a small amount of olive oil, use the good stuff here, over the squash
Add a sprig or two of thyme, and sprinkle with sea salt (also time for the good stuff, I like Maldon here)
Fold the top of the parchment up, and fold in or twist the ends to make a packet
Put in the microwave for 5 minutes (depending on the strength of your oven) until tender
You can also put them on a cookie sheet in the regular oven at 350 for about 20 minutes until tender
If you use aluminum foil instead of the parchment, you can grill them for about 20 minutes.
Serve them in their packets, or remove and slice for presentation.
The Accidental Locavore blog is about what I've eaten and cooked, with an emphasis on local and fresh. The posts are centered around my food adventures and recipes. It's always a surprise, and it's always about real food for real people. Sign up for the blog and see how easy and delicious cooking amazing local food can be!
Earlier this week the Accidental Locavore got some beautiful loin lamb chops. Since there was still a little of the yogurt I made last week in the fridge, I thought I’d marinate the chops in the yogurt. Yogurt tenderizes meat, something Indians have known for a long time. Here’s what I used, it will look like a lot of spices, but I had them on hand. Use what you’ve got, and what you like.
Here, the 
