My aim is to share what I know, what I try, and what I learn about cooking. I've already got interesting stories to share, thanks to my crazy family. My mother is Italian-American and celebrations in my family revolve around the kitchen and the loud, happy frenzy of making and eating food together.
Six years ago we informally adopted my "brother," then a Korean exchange student whose father wanted him to get an American education, who is now my annoying kid brother and just part of the family. Tommy brought a new set of flavors into our kitchen, and while Italian and Korean cuisine are literally half a world apart, they stand united in the universal language of garlic, which is all it took to win me over.
My latest influence has been my reading. A friend and I read Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, and to complement it I have been working through The Real Food Revival by Sherri Brooks Vinton and Ann Clark Espuelas, and next on the list is Alice Water's The Art of Simple Food. Right now, in the middle of Pennsylvania's summer bounty, a doable drive from not one but two wonderful local markets, I can honestly tell you that the red-pink watery chunks at my school's salad bar bear only a nominal relation to the sweet, tangy, succulent, earthy tomatoes I can get right now. Sustainable agriculture makes perfect sense to me on two fronts. I told you before, I like good food. I also like it when no one is poisoning me or my planet, so fresh and local is a double win.
In a nutshell, this is about turning real ingredients into real, good food, and doing it with the innovation required on a student budget in student space. This is going to be interesting.
For now, at least, I'm home, and that means I have funds, access, and equipment that make good food easy. This was dinner last night. The corn was from Thornbury Farm, the cheese from Highland Farm, the eggs from a childhood friend who raises chickens, and the basil from my own backyard.
Fresh Basil and Sweet Corn Frittata
olive oil for saute
1/4 sweet onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 tsp minced garlic
3 cups fresh sweet corn kernels (roughly 3 cobs. I recommend saving the cobs for vegetable stock if you plan on making your own.)
6 eggs
2 T milk
1/2 T baking soda
salt and pepper to taste
1/4-1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4-1/2 cup crumbled French feta sheep cheese (or fresh mozzarella, goat cheese, whatever you like)
Coat the bottom of a large, oven-safe skillet with olive oil and put over medium heat. Preheat the oven to 350 on the "broil*" setting. When the skillet is hot, add the onions and saute; once the onions have begun to soften, add the garlic and corn. Saute until the corn is tender and sweet, and remove the skillet from the heat for a few minutes.
In a small mixing bowl, beat the eggs. You want roughly two cups of egg. Add salt, pepper, and basil. Last, add milk and baking soda,** mix thoroughly, and pour into skillet. Put the skillet back on the heat and gently prod the mix around so that the corn is evenly distributed throughout the egg mixture. Crumble the cheese on and prod it down into the egg a little, and then put the frittata in the oven.
Times vary, and I'm no expert on ovens. Start with five minutes, and check to see how set the frittata is before adding more time. When you think the fritatta is done, take a table or butter knife and make a small cut in the center of the skillet. If the knife comes out clean (not covered in egg slime) it's done. Take it out, cut it up, and enjoy. This experiment was very well received last night, and was great with some roasted potatoes and a slice of toast. It also microwaved well for breakfast this morning.
* You may or may not know this, but my dad didn't so I'll explain: "broil" doesn't mean "toaster" like Dad thought, it means that the heat is coming from the upper rather than lower element (that coil thing that gets hot) in the oven. Heat from above is important to a frittata, since in starting it on the stove the bottom is a little bit cooked already while the top is still raw eggs.
** I add milk and baking soda because the acids in the milk and the base in the baking soda react to create a lighter texture in the dish as a whole. Think back to the paper-mache volcanoes of yore, and you might remember a bubbling effect; the mild acids in the milk produce this on a smaller scale, so your frittata is soft and fluffy. (It won't go kaboom, I promise.)
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