Author: Atchison Farmers Market

Today we had five 11-13 year olds at AFM Kids Cooking School. Our recipe included pasta which is usually a winner with kids; and I thought that peanut butter would also be a winner. But my guess is that none of them (and many of you) have not had peanuts as part of a main dish. In Thailand, where my family and I spent nearly a year), we had many dishes that included peanuts. I also found a number of recipes from Africa using “ground nuts.” They are tasty and have fat and protein. Most recipes can either use crunchy or smooth peanut butter.

Here is the Recipe: ENJOY!

Thai dishes usually have some heat (hot peppers or sauce):  it’s up to you…

Thai dishes are always made with fresh ingredients:  perfect for our Market cooks…

• lb spaghetti or 1 lb linguine
• tablespoon salt

• tablespoons toasted sesame oil
• cup chunky peanut butter
• tablespoons soy sauce
• tablespoons white vinegar
• tablespoon grated fresh ginger
• tablespoon hot sauce (optional)
• cucumber, peeled, quartered lengthwise, seeded, and sliced thin
• red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1/4-inch strips
• cup chopped fresh cilantro or 1⁄3 cup parsley

4 
green onions, thinly sliced (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

Pasta:  Bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot. Add pasta and salt to boiling water and cook as package directs. Reserve ¾ cup pasta cooking water. Drain pasta in colander, rinse with cold water until cool, drain once more, and transfer to large bowl. Add sesame oil and toss to coat.

Sauce:  Whisk peanut butter, soy sauce, vinegar, ginger, hot sauce, and 6 tablespoons pasta cooking water in medium bowl until smooth.

Finishing touches:  Add dressing, cucumber, bell pepper, and cilantro to pasta and toss to combine, adding reserved pasta water as needed to adjust consistency. Serve.

Prep storage ideas:  Oil-coated pasta, dressing, and vegetables can be refrigerated in separate airtight containers for 2 days. Bring ingredients to room temperature before tossing together. Add warm water to thin if needed.

A Dutch Baby is a type of pancake that uses eggs to puff up the batter. It is similar to a popover in that eggs are the ingredient causing the rise of the batter. More eggs are the reason that the cook time is quite a bit longer than traditional pancakes also. But the final product is so spectacular it is just fun to cook them for a special occasion. The puffed-up edges are crispy and buttery. And the batter can be whipped up in seconds. Enjoy!

Dutch Baby (recipe by Florence Fabricant for New York Times) for 3-4

4 Tb butter: put in 8″ or 9″ baking pan or dish then into 425 degree pre-heated oven to melt.

3 eggs, 1/2 C flour, 1/2 C milk, 1 Tb sugar, pinch nutmeg.

Put all of these ingredients into a bowl for whisking or into a blender to make the batter. Pour batter directly into the pan/dish with melted butter to bake.

Bake at 425 degrees for 20 min, then reduce heat to 300 degrees for 5 more minutes. Remove from oven and add sauces, jams, fresh fruit slices, powdered sugar or cinnamon sugar. Cut and serve.

Two Fresh Fruit Sauces

Peach: Put 5 cut up peeled ripe peaches, 2 Tb sugar, 1 C water in sauce pan: cook til boiling. Remove from heat and put in blender for 3-5 seconds. Return to pan or put in serving bowl and add 2 drops almond extract. Cool a bit then serve.

Blackberry: Put about 2 C blackberries, 3 Tb sugar, 1 C water in sauce pan: cook til boiling. Remove from heat and put into blender with “shake” of cinnamon. Blenderize 3-5 seconds and return to pan or put into bowl for serving.

Today, at the Market, I demonstrated and served samples of Mexican Street Corn, about 11 ears with this recipe. I tried a “deconstructed” version of Street Corn last season but today’s version seemed to be much more popular. And it is another way to serve corn when it is so fresh and sweet. Our Market vendors who grow corn brought their first “harvest” to the Market on Wednesday and they both sold out today. Corn season is on!

My husband, Dan, was the griller because I deliberately do not learn how to do it. He agreed to help but he also reminded me of all the things he wasn’t going to get to do because he was grilling for me. He brought his oldest, most banged up Weber to the Market for the corn grilling process. He sprayed the grill with canola cooking spray, got the charcoal briquets white hot, then put the shucked corn on the hot grill. He covered the grill with the lid and roasted the ears for a total of about 10 minutes. HOWEVER, he lifted the lid often to check for browning and to turn the ears for equal cooking. This process causes the sugars in the corn to caramelize to their most deliciousness. The kernels darken in color and start to look shiny and clearer when they are done.

The Recipe once the corn is grilled:

3 Tb Mayonnaise AND 3 Tb sour cream AND 1 Tb lime juice: mix well and brush each ear with this mixture using a pastry brush. Not too thick but enough to cause dry ingredients to stick to the corn. I used Hellman’s LIght Mayo and full fat sour cream.

Roll corn in mixture of :

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese in the green can (or Mexican Cotija cheese if you can find it) AND 1 tsp chili powder (more or less to suit your taste) AND dash of salt and pepper and a hand full of chopped fresh cilantro. Bump it up a bit with dash of cayenne pepper and a shake of cumin. I love cumin but didn’t use it today. ENJOY!

I started with the recipe I found at https://letsdishrecipes.com/2017/04/mexican-street-corn-torchys-copycat.html Thank you Danelle