Breakfast of 4-H champions

When you start your morning at the Park & Ride at 7:43.

We spent the day at the State Fair, hanging out with Minnesotans when they are having the peak Minnesota experience, which strangely makes them act less Minnesotan.

They are much more likely to talk to strangers on the bus, in line or at a show. They become nearly Iowan in this regard, speaking as a reformed Iowan.

They also become more like Japanese in that they are obsessed with novelty while deeply rooted in tradition. Hence the longest lines for the newest foods, but everyone still has their must-have staples. So we got the Kentikky Chicken Sliders from Hot Indian Foods, the shrimp cheese fritters from Funky Grits, and our must-have fix of Danielson onion rings. (Just south of the Food Building; grab some to go with a flight from the Craft Beer Hall nearby.)

They also become more European, in that they get to wander around in public drinking beer, like a civilized nation. This probably contributes a slight amount to their increased loquaciousness, but they seem to start the day more chatty than usual.

Some 13,000 steps and three music acts later, we're sated again for another year. There's only so much fried food a person can take, however tasty.

Sorry, no picture of those sliders. Trying to eat them in the middle of a sudden downpour was not conducive to photography.

Roasted and pickled pepper dip, preserved lemon hummus

Sometimes life gives you lemons and you make preserved lemons. And then eventually you have just one left. Sometimes at the farmers market you succumb to the charm of cute little hot cherry peppers and make pickled peppers. And then eventually you have just one left.

It's this sort of thing that Marisa McClellan's book, "The Food in Jars Kitchen," addresses admirably. She's written previously about putting up food in jars. This book addresses what to do with that abundance. Sure, you can always put your jam on toast, your pickles on sandwiches and other obvious usages. But sometimes you've got so much on hand that you're looking for alternative uses. And sometimes you've got just one left.

Roasted red pepper, pepperoncini  and feta dip

Adapted from “The Food in Jars Kitchen” by Marisa McClellan.

Ingredients

1¼ cup drained roasted red peppers

1 cup drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes (reserve oil)

½ cup drained pepperoncini rings or other pickled hot peppers

2 garlic cloves, chopped

8 ounces crumbled feta

8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

¾ cup olive oil, or a combo pack of the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes

1 cup fresh basil leaves

1 cup fresh parsley leaves

Method

In a food processor, combine red peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, pickled peppers and garlic. Process until well chopped. Add feta and cream cheese and process until smooth. With motor running, add oil in a stream. Add herbs and pulse until chopped.

Rating: Pretty tasty. Works as a dip for veggies or naan, or as a spread on hamburgers and such. I'd make it again when I've got those ingredients to use. (I used that one remaining pickled cherry tomato and part of a jar of pickled jalapenos I'd already opened.) Obviously the hotter the peppers you use, the hotter the dip. This combo was more like a pleasant background heat.

Makes a party-size amount, so if you’re just preparing it for the household, you might consider chopping the recipe in half. But it does keep fairly well.

Preserved lemon hummus

Adapted from “The Food in Jars Kitchen” by Marisa McClellan. If you don't have a preserved lemon, the author suggests substituting the zest and juice from 1 lemon and an additional ½ teaspoon of salt.

Ingredients

2 garlic cloves (or more)

¾ cup water

¾ cup tahini

1 preserved lemon, chopped

½ teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon ground cumin, or more to taste

2 cans chickpeas (or 4 cups fresh cooked), drained, with some liquid reserved

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (optional)

Olive oil for drizzling

Method

Warm chickpeas in a pan or in a microwave safe dish until they’re heated through.

In a food processor, mince the garlic. Add water, tahini, preserved lemon, salt and cumin and process until smooth.

Add warmed chickpeas and process for 5 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning with lemon juice, more cumin and more salt as needed. Process until smooth. Serve drizzled with olive oil.

Rating: Possibly the creamiest hummus I’ve ever made. Warming the beans is a genius tip when you’re using canned chickpeas, which generally aren’t very tender. Flavorwise, even though I wound up doubling the amount of preserved lemon and cumin called for (and the recipe listed above reflects that doubling) and added more lemon juice, it was pretty subtle. Tasty, and very creamy, but if I make it again I’d opt to boost the flavor quotient even more. 

There are a lot more fun things to do with a preserved lemon, but at least now I don't have the monstrously big jar of brine with one remaining lemon clogging up precious frig space that could be taken up by quickles if I get around to it.

Spiralized beet salad with balsamic honey dressing

 

For a time it looked like my spiralizer was doomed to be one of those appliances that enjoys the same half-life as a one-hit wonder, and then lurks in the back of valuable kitchen cupboard space unnoticed and unloved. I tried enough variations on zucchini noodle recipes to decide they are OK-ish for salads, but a lousy substitute for noodles, especially compared with roasted spaghetti squash. And really, I'd just rather give up on any pasta recipe if zoodles are my only carbless choice.

But then I ran across this recipe and my spiralizer is enjoying a comeback. 

You don't have to have a spiralizer to enjoy this recipe; spiralized beets are available in some grocery stores, or you can simply grate or julienne the beets. Or maybe haul out that Salad Shooter ... Yes, of course I still have mine. It's next to the grinder attachment for my grandmother's 1951 Kitchen Aid mixer I still use. Marie Kondo has never been near my kitchen.

Spiralized beet salad with balsamic honey dressing

From Inspiralized.com

Ingredients

2 large beets (a mix of colors is pretty, but not necessary)

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for drizzling

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

½ teaspoon Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons honey

2 tablespoons minced chives

Method

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Wash beets. Trim off ends and peel. Spiralize, or grate with a large-hole grater.

Spread beet noodles on parchment. Drizzle with some olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 10 minutes or until just tender. Let cool to room temperature.

Mix 2 tablespoons olive oil, balsamic vinegar, mustard and honey. Mix in most of chives. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Toss with roasted beets. Sprinkle with remaining chives and refrigerate until ready to serve. 

Rating: Really pretty nice flavor-wise, and very colorful. This works well either as a side salad or as a component of a salad/brain bowl.  

Mind you, one hit is better than none. Just ask any surviving member of Shocking Blue.