Blue Cayenne

Need a delicious way to eat your greens? 

This Mediterranean Greens and Phyllo Pie is just what your need. This recipe makes a large pie and, with a little reheating in the oven to crisp the phyllo layers, lasts for days. 

This recipe is from Martha Rose Shulman’s cookbook Mediterranean Feast: Vegetarian Recipes From The World’s Healthiest Cuisine. You can order the cookbook through your local. bookstore or on Amazon here.

Shulman is the author of twenty-five books and has written extensively about food. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, Saveur, and Bon Appetit. She has also appeared on The Food Network.

Here is another Shulman recipe, this one from the New York Times. Here’s the link: Pears Poached in Red Wine and Cassis.  Put these two recipes together for a glorious meal. 

Here is the recipe for the Mediterranean Greens and Phyllo Pie  as I prepared it in my kitchen. 

This started out as a recipe post. Sadly, it has become a eulogy to a gifted chef. 

Greg Malouf has died. 

He and his former wife, food writer Lucy Malouf, did much to introduce the western world to the delights and subtleties of  Middle Eastern cooking. He was often credited with being “the godfather of Middle Eastern cuisine.” 

Greg Malouf was a celebrated Australian chef. His familial background was Lebanese. He operated several important restaurants in Australia, London and Dubai.

This recipe is from Greg and Lucy Malouf’s cookbook A Chef’s Travels in Turkey. 

You can find this cookbook through your local bookstore or on Amazon here. This cookbook was first published in 2008, so you may have the opportunity to pick up a good used copy.

In addition to being a fine cookbook, the description of travel throughout Turkey is excellent. This cookbook is one of a series of Malouf cookbooks  including Saha, Moorish and New Middle Eastern Food. You may well find yourself captivated by this series and travelling (at least in your kitchen) to the far-flung areas of this fascinating region. 

Here is the recipe as I prepared it in my kitchen.

This Sweet and Sour Tofu With Corn is a wonderful Asian-inspired tofu recipe.  Preparation is pretty fast, too—perfect for a lazy end-of-summer meal. It’s beautiful, too. 

Curious about tofu? Tofu was first produced in China more than 2000 years ago, probably as a happy accident when someone curdled soy milk while adding nigari seaweed, a coagulating agent. 

The tofu we buy in stores today has a lot of healthy features. It is protein rich and the protein is a complete protein. That means that tofu contains all nine essential amino acids. Too, tofu is rich in iron, calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus. It is also a low calorie food that contains no cholesterol. 

But, which to buy–soft or hard tofu? It depends upon what you are cooking. Soft tofu contains more water and has a soft, custardy texture, making it better for soups and desserts. Hard (or extra hard) tofu is pressed to remove more of the water in its base. Hard tofu is better for stir-fry and grilling recipes where you want the tofu to hold its shape while cooking. 

This recipe is from Melissa Clark’s cookbook Dinner: Changing The Game. The book is available through your local bookstore or on Amazon here.

Here is the recipe as I prepared it in my kitchen.