Umi 💚Emily! Some of the best food in New York is cooking in your neighbors' home kitchens - their Umi Kitchens. Starting in March here in Northwest/ Bococa Brooklyn, we're pulling the curtain back on some serious culinary talent, delivering delicious home cooking from their Umi Kitchens to families and individuals who crave real good food by real good people delivered right to their doors. Join us on February 5th to enjoy some home cooking by the city's first Umi Kitchens. Bring your family, and join ours! Do you live in Brooklyn? Click here to join us!

 

Hope to see you there.

 

Who We Are: Umi is platform for culinary entrepreneurship where talented home cooks can showcase and sell their delicious home cooking via delivery to families in their community who crave the delicious hug of a home cooked meal, and a face and story to go with it. 

 

Umi

The best thing about these chips (besides the salty fried sage bits) is that you can slice the potatoes in advance and refrigerate them on layers of paper towel for up to 2 days. Then fry them up when you're ready to serve. 

3 large Potatoes (Russet work particularly well because of their low moisture content)

4 cups of flavorless oil, such as safflower, canola, or vegetable

Hefty Handful of roughly chopped fresh Sage

Sea Salt to taste

1.     Heat a heavy pot filled with oil to 350 degrees. Using a mandolin, slice potatoes lengthwise into pieces less than 1/8 inch thick. Place potato slices on a surface covered in a paper towel to absorb dampness.

2.     Chop sage and set aside. Assemble a large baking sheet covered in a paper towel to place fried chips. Once oil is at 350, drop potato slices in batches of 4-8 (depending on size of slices) into pot using a pair of metal tongs. After 30-60 seconds, flip once, and allow to cook til crisp, about 30 seconds more. Place on paper towel-lined baking sheet, sprinkle with salt. Repeat until all slices are fried.

This week we're welcoming Umi Home Cook Suzanne by sharing her recipe for 'Hot Cold Cucumber Salad.' I promise this will become a summer staple --these flavors are addictive. This type of salad is equally delicious as a side dish for a summer barbecue as it is atop a hot bowl of miso ramen. (But let's just enjoy summer for now).

While I love a rich, layered recipe, in the mid-summer when there are more cucumbers in the garden than you know what to do with, it's too hot to fuss and you want a fresh and easy treat to have with dinner or bring to a barbecue, this is my go to! To make it a meal, add in some cubed firm organic sprouted tofu or some grilled organic chicken served on a bed of organic greens. 

- Suzanne, Umi Home Cook

6 small or 3 large cucumbers, sliced into rounds

1 medium Vidalia onion, thinly sliced

1/2  sweet red bell pepper, diced

1/2 cup + organic rice wine vinegar (unsweetened)

1 tbsp sucanat

1/2 tsp + hot pepper sesame oil (or toasted sesame oil for you scaredy cats)

Sea salt to taste

A sprinkle hot red pepper flakes (optional)

Handful fresh chopped or torn cilantro

Place cut vegetables in a flat glass or ceramic square baking dish or storage container. Dissolve the sucanat in the vinegar. Check for desired sweetness. Add more to taste. Pour over vegetables. Add sesame oil, salt and pepper to taste.  Toss in cilantro. Can sit in the fridge an hour or so for a quick pickling effect or enjoy immediately.

This week, Umi Home Cook Anthony shares his Eggplant Parm recipe. 

Anthony's recipe is not so much a recipe but a method. Quantities aren't as important as how you put together this classic dish. He got this method from his mom who got it from his grandmother. They loved having leftovers for lunch on Saturday afternoons, served on slices of fresh Italian bread. Here's what Anthony does:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

2. Peel and slice 2 large eggplants to 1/4 inch thick ( horizontal for parm, length wise for rollatini)
3. In a brown paper bag, toss about 1 cup flour, some salt, pepper, finely chopped parsley, and a few sprigs of thyme. 

4. In a big bowl, make an egg bath, whisking your eggs with salt, pepper, and more chopped parsley.

5. Shake the eggplant slices in flour mix, then dunk them in the egg mix, and fry in a large skillet in a 1/4 inch olive oil until golden. Don't over cook - firm is good since they'll be going right in the oven. Place eggplant slices on a paper towel lined baking sheet to absorb the excess oil.

6. Cover the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish with a thin layer of fresh marinara (that recipe is for later!), and layer eggplant slices on top. Continue layering Eggplant and marinara until you're out. If you're feeling extra cheesy, sprinkle some Parmesan and Romano in between the layers. 

7. Sprinkle about 1 cup shredded fresh mozzarella over the top and bake for 35-40 minutes, until the cheese is bubbly and brown. And then add more parmesan of course! 

I first made this recipe one summer when there were too many zucchini in our garden than we knew what to do with. So we made zucchini bread - lots of variations. After much tweaking, this was my favorite. Goes beautifully with the orange honey ricotta spread for breakfast or snacking.

 

For the Zucchini Bread

• 2-3 cups grated zucchini (depending on how much you want to use up!)
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
• 4 tablespoons good honey
• 1 orange, juiced, and zested
• 1/2 cup sour cream or greek yogurt
• 1 1/4 cups canola oil
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2cups roughly chopped walnuts (optional)

1. Begin by heating the oven to 350. Toast walnuts on a cookie sheet until fragrant and golden, about 10 minutes. Set aside.
2. Maintain oven temperature, and butter two 8x4 loaf pans. Alternatively, you can use one 9X13 baking pan.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs and sugar until lighter in color. Add the honey, canola oil, orange juice and zest, and whisk to combine. Whisk in the shredded zucchini.
4. In a separate small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
5. Add flour mixture and greek yogurt or sour cream to the zucchini mixture and whisk just to combine. Fold in chopped walnuts if using. Transfer batter to baking pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 45-60 minutes.

For the honeyed Ricotta

• 2cups whole milk ricotta cheese
• 4tablespoons honey
• 1teaspoon orange zest

1. Whisk together ricotta, honey, and orange zest. Spread on zucchini bread for a delicious breakfast or afternoon snack.

See more: http://food52.com/recipes/22958-perfect-zucchini-bread-with-honeyed-ricotta

Pepperoncini were one of the first summer crops to arrive after the late May fava bean craze while I was working on Praiano's terraced farms in southern Italy. This recipe is a local classic, stuffed with fresh anchovies, mozzarella, and fisherman's bread (a dried bread used in lots of southern Italian recipes. You can find it at Elm City Market!) These are perfect as an appetizer for crowds, or packed for a work lunch the next day with a green salad. They're just as delicious straight out of the oven as they are at room temperature. You'll start seeing peppers later this month at the Wooster Square Farmer's Market, so head down there, stuff away, and enjoy. 
 
Makes 30 stuffed pepperoncini, or 10 stuffed bell peppers

• 3/4 cup fisherman's bread (or a good loaf of dried stale bread, crumbled into pieces)
• 1/2 cup water
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup cubed pancetta
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• Handful torn basil leaves
• 3/4 cup cubed fresh mozzarella
• Salt and pepper to taste
• About 30 pepperoncini (or 10 bell peppers, or any small fresh pepper)
• 5 anchovy fillets chopped fine

1. Preheat your oven to 375. Using a paring knife, make slits in the peppers and remove any excess white pith and seeds (though a small amount won't hurt the final product). Arrange peppers on baking sheets, set aside. Place fisherman's bread (or stale bread pieces, if using) in a small bowl and soak in water and 1 tbsp olive oil. Let stand.
2. Meanwhile, heat remainder of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and pancetta, and cook until onions are soft and translucent and pancetta just begins to brown - about 10 minutes. Add anchovies and stir, cooking 1 minute more. Add soaked fisherman's bread, (leaving behind any unabsorbed water), torn basil leaves, and salt and pepper to taste, and mix till combined. Remove from heat and mix in cubed mozzarella.
3. Spoon tablespoons filled with stuffing into pepperoncini. Drizzle pepperoncini with one last tablespoon of olive oil, and bake, turning halfway through, for 30-40 minutes, or until stuffing is browned and cheese is melted.

See more: http://food52.com/recipes/23106-stuffed-pepperoncini

My family’s home in Washington, Connecticut, has an oak slab countertop and a big brass sink for washing the dirt off of vegetables. It’s where I fell in love with cooking. Pizza is what we make when we want people to eat our garden veggies: everyone likes pizza, and pizza likes any vegetable you top it with. My dough recipe makes four balls, enough for six people. For my brother Charles’ birthday, I doubled it: more mouths to feed and more places to put the leeks.

• 3 ¾ cups all-purpose flour. I use white for the 3 cups, and whole wheat for the last ¾ cup. I like the brown flecks in the finished dough, and the slight extra sturdiness it adds.
• 1 envelope active dry yeast. But buy a few more and stick them in the fridge for your next pizza night.
• 2 teaspoons sea salt. My teaspoons are always hefty, so it’s probably more like 3. I like to finely grind the salt so it distributes well through the dough.
• 1 ½ cups of room temperature water

1. In a big bowl, blend together the flour, yeast, and salt with a fork. Add the water and mix thoroughly with a spatula until a shaggy dough forms. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel, and let it rise at room temperature for as close to 18 hours as you can get. I make it at night before going to bed so it’s ready for dinner the next day. The warmer the room, the quicker the rise.
2. Flour your countertop and your hands, and scrape the dough out of the bowl. Divide the dough into 4 portions, and shape into a neat circular mounds. You can let the teenage boys do this part; it’s hard to mess up. Tell them to dust the mounds with flour if they are sticky to the touch.
3. Heat your oven to 500 degrees, and let it continue heating for at least 30 minutes while you roll the dough balls and prepare your toppings. Do this part on your own.
4. Slide the crust onto a floured baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes, or until it firms up and takes on slight color. Then pull it out and rub it with a head of garlic.
5. Share the pizza line-up with your eager kitchen helpers, and let them do the topping while you turn on the broiler. Make sure they don’t overdo it with the cheese.
6. One pie at a time, stick the pizza back in the oven until the crust is slightly charred and the cheese is bubbling (5-8 minutes, depending on your oven; keep peeping inside).

Topping Ideas
Red pies:

• Tomato, buffalo mozzarella, basil (This was Peyton’s, my other brother. He’s a purist.)
• Tomato, mozzarella, zucchini, roasted garlic
• Tomato, mozzarella, caramelized onions, parm

White pies:

• Caramelized onion, leeks, mozzarella, pancetta
• Leeks, chopped kale, parm, sunnyside eggs
• Leeks, squash, mozzarella, thyme
• Pesto (kale or otherwise), goat cheese, zucchini, parm
• Pesto, mozzarella

See more: http://thesefiftystates.org/a-birthday-feast/