DIY Gourmet
By Tricia Cornell
Photo by /Illustration by Jason Lee
(page 2 of 3)
No. 3
PLANT A KITCHEN HERB GARDEN
Fresh basil for your pesto? $5. Fresh thyme and tarragon for your bouquet garni? $6. It adds up. But snipping these herbs off your own plants? Well, that, as they say, is priceless.“Start with things you use in the kitchen every day, things you’ll actually use,” says Mike Hibbard, a horticultural advisor with Bachman’s. Fresh basil, a particularly forgiving plant, is a good one to begin with.
What you need: Small plastic pots, potting soil, 2-3 basil seedlings, a full-spectrum grow light (optional).
How to do it:
1. Clean pots thoroughly with soap and water. Allow to dry.
2. Fill pots two-thirds full with potting soil. Remove seedlings from plastic container and loosen roots gently before placing it in pots. Cover roots with additional potting soil and pack gently.
3. Keep soil moist, but not soaking wet.
4. Place basil in an airtight window where it will get sunlight for as many hours as possible.
5. Pinch off top of plant at first, to encourage side growth. Water regularly. Fertilize lightly once a month. Rotate pots to encourage symmetrical growth.
6. When leaves on side of plant are big enough, harvest them. And enjoy lashings of fresh pesto all year round.
Turn it up a notch: Try other herbs, like rosemary and thyme. Or start your herbs from seed.
No. 4
MAKE GRANITA
Homemade ice cream can be delicious. But most recipes require an ice-cream maker, which kind of runs counter to the whole DIY spirit, don’t you think? Thankfully, there are ways to make cold treats that pack just as much punch as ice cream, but don’t require a machine to produce.Ices—mixtures of water, sugar, and liquid flavoring, like fruit or coffee—are a good substitute. In fact, don’t wait until dessert to serve up scoops of shaved ice. What about a beet sorbet as a starter? Try mint and lingonberry ices with the main course. If you’re set on making dessert, try espresso granitas. They’re rich, refreshing, and, in execution, practically fool-proof.
What you need: 3 cups hot fresh espresso (use a stovetop maker); 1/3 cup sugar; whipped cream or 1 small can condensed milk.
How to do it:
1. Mix espresso with sugar. Allow to cool at room temperature.
2. Pour mixture into a shallow dish and place in freezer to chill.
3. Every 20 to 30 minutes, break up ice crystals with a fork. Mixture should turn solid within 5 to 6 hours.
4. Scoop into chilled dishes and garnish with whipped cream or drizzles of condensed milk.
Turn it up a notch: Experiment with more exotic infusions. In a saucepan over medium heat, dissolve 1 cup sugar in 3 cups water. Remove from heat. Add 3 bags of green tea or 15 sprigs of thyme or rosemary and allow to steep. Follow steps 2 to 4 as noted above.
Paul Nelson
No. 5
Paul Nelson
SMOKE MEAT
Smoking means preservation and flavor—and the equation is simple: red meat plus fire plus lots of fiddly equipment equals a foodie hobby with more than a little swagger.David Axtell is a local enthusiast who swears by his Kamado, a custom-made ceramic barbecue. “I love to cook outside,” he says, “and I thought, ‘How can I make this great part of summer even better?’” He uses real hardwood charcoal (save the Kingsford for the burgers and brats) or extruded coconut charcoal, supplementing with small chunks of hardwood, like cherry or apple, in the first few hours of smoking (call your local orchard and see if they’ll sell you a bag of applewood chunks).
But, as Axtell says, “This isn’t just a red-meat excursion.” Think about a smoked turkey. Scallops smoked over tea leaves. Smoked mozzarella cheese. Corn on the cob, smoked right in the husk.
Before you plunk down $1,000 for an outdoor smoker, why not try a practice run indoors? You can spend about $50 on a stovetop smoker, or just dust off the wok and make smoked salmon on your own.
What you need: 1/3 cup loose tea (Darjeeling works well); 1/3 cup brown sugar; 1/3 cup dry rice; 2 to 4 salmon steaks (about 6 to 8 ounces apiece).
How to do it:
1. Line wok and lid with foil, leaving a few inches of overhang at edges.
2. Combine tea, brown sugar, and rice in the bottom of wok and blend.
3. Put rack in wok. Arrange salmon steaks on a piece of foil and place foil in center of rack. Cover wok with lid and crimp foil to make tight seal.
4. Turn kitchen fan to the highest setting. Place wok on stovetop and heat. You’ll see smoke in about 3 minutes. Reduce heat and let salmon smoke for about 15 minutes. Remove when center of fillet is no longer translucent.
Turn it up a notch: When that rich, smoky flavor has really grabbed you and you’re ready to spend all summer smoking, you may want to acquire a high-end ceramic barbecue like the Kamado or the Big Green Egg.
