Pepita Sun Butter

When I was approached to try Organic Pepita Sun Seed Butter from Naturally Nutty, I had to say yes. Especially when I found out that it won a 2018 Specialty Food Association Sofi Award. (I go to the Association's Summer Fancy Food Show every year, and know that it's a big deal.)

All of Naturally Nutty's butters contain not only nuts and large seeds, but also nutrient-rich smaller seeds like flax, hemp, and chia. There are over 20 flavors in the line, including mocha almond and cinnamon vanilla sunflower butters. They do peanut butter too, smooth and crunchy of course, but also in flavors like white chocolate coconut and butter toffee.

Pepita Sun Seed Butter is flavored with organic vanilla powder, allspice, and cinnamon, and is a close cousin in flavor to pumpkin pie, making it a perfect treat for this time of year. I like it by the spoonful right out of the jar (the way I usually eat nut butters!) or dolloped onto oatmeal or chia pudding. It's also great on toast and english muffins, or any way you'd use peanut butter.

Buy Naturally Nutty products directly from the company, or from Amazon.

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Mediterranean Pimento Cheese

Pimento cheese is a southern specialty. A fairly simple combination of shredded cheese, mayo, and chopped pimento or roasted red pepper, it's great slathered on everything from crackers to burgers. Not being particularly southern, I am willing to take liberties with the recipe and make it my own.

We had a jar of fairly mild harissa paste in the fridge looking for things to do. I decided to employ it in a pimento cheese that could hail from a land in the vicinity of the southeastern Mediterranean sea. Most pimento cheeses use cheddar as a base, but I wanted something more neutral so the feta cheese could be prominent. The harissa stands in for the pimentos, but you could certainly add red pepper to your cheese if you choose. Don't forget to add the herbs, which add more character to the salty cheese.

I spread it on ciabatta and topped it with an over-easy egg, and it was mmm! Next I'll use it on a lamb burger with lots of red onion and fresh tomato.

Mediterranean Pimento Cheese

4 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, grated
4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
2-3 teaspoons harissa paste (or to taste, depending on the strength of your harissa)
3 heaping tablespoons mayo
1 tablespoon finely chopped mint
1 teaspoon dill seeds, crushed

Combine all ingredients in a bowl until fairly homogenized in texture. There will still be small lumps of feta. Pack into a lidded container and refrigerate for several hours so the flavors can mellow. Serve with crackers or as a sandwich spread.



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Meyer Lemon Curd

Just about when most of us have had enough of winter, a bright burst of sunshine hits the markets in the form of Meyer lemons. It's believed Meyer lemons, native to China, are a cross between a true lemon and a Mandarin orange and their exquisite orange-y aroma would back that up. Meyer lemons aren't quite as tart and acidic as ordinary supermarket lemons, which makes their flavor ideal for preparations that feature their sunny flavor. Lemon curd, for example.

Lemon curd is super easy and rather fast to make, and like most things, homemade is always better than store bought. I like it on toast or scones, but it also makes a nice filling for layer cakes and turns a piece of pound cake or scoop of ice cream into something just a bit more tasty.

Meyer Lemon Curd

4 Meyer lemons
1/3 cup sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk

Finely grate the zest of two lemons and set aside. Juice three of the lemons; if that doesn't give you 1/2 cup of lemon juice, break into the fourth one.

Put the juice, sugar, and butter into a saucepan and heat on low until the butter is melted. In a bowl, beat together the eggs and egg yolk. When the butter is melted, slowly add the juice mixture to the beaten eggs, whisking the whole time. Once combined, pour it all back into the saucepan and set over medium heat. Cook the curd, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the mixture thickens. This will happen fast, so don't leave the stove or stop stirring.

Once the mixture is thick enough to coat a spoon, remove it from the heat. Pour through a strainer to catch any curdle-y bits. Stir in the reserved lemon zest.

Pour curd into a jar or other container with a cover. Refrigerate until cold.

Makes about a cup and a half of curd.



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Pimiento Cheese

Pimiento cheese sounds like a mistake from the Kraft labs, doesn't it? Like some pinkish-orange paste that would come in a little jar in the dairy case. Something my mother would have regarded with near disgust had I indicated that perhaps she buy a jar (despite her own love for Velveeta), you know, just to try it. Like I had to try lima beans before I decided that I loathe them.

Oh wait, pimiento cheese does come in a little jar in the dairy case. Lookee there!

What exactly is a pimiento anyway (and why doesn't anyone pronounce the second "i" - pih-mee-ento)? They're the red thingies in green olives, right? That taste just like roasted bell peppers? Ah - they are peppers, but a cultivar also known as a cherry pepper, and not your standard bell pepper. But why mash them up with cheese and mayonnaise? That seems a little cruel, to both the pepper and the cheese.

...and I've just offended scores of Southerners with my ignorance. I may live south of the Mason-Dixon line, but I am a yankee at heart. (Notice I spelled that with a lower-case "y" so as not to be confused as a fan of a particular New York sports team, which I am most definitely not.)

I must admit I've always been a leetle, tiny, weensy bit curious about pimiento cheese, but I've never tried it. That is, not until Richard Blais' cookbook, Try This at Home, came into my life. In it, he offers a recipe for a decidedly non-traditional pimiento cheese with jalapenos, poblanos, and nary a pimiento to be found.

The white cheese + the green peppers makes a pretty Spring-like color combination that reminds me more of egg salad than of pimiento cheese. And the addition of cilantro and lime takes the flavor profile in a westerly direction, so the result is more Austin than Atlanta. But - cheesilicious. And, if you think about it, I still haven't tried pimiento cheese, at least not the authentic stuff.

I used Kewpie mayo; if you do, too, omit the salt. Also, I didn't like the texture at first - it was like cheese salad. Food processor to the rescue!

Richard Blais' Pimiento Jack Cheese (adapted from Try This at Home)

8 ounces white pepper jack cheese, coarsely grated
1 small poblano pepper, roasted, peeled, seeded, and finely diced
1 small jalapeno, seeded and minced (or more to taste)
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
Grated zest and juice of 1/2 lime
Kosher salt to taste

Combine the cheese, chiles, mayo, cilantro, lime zest and juice, and salt. Pop the mixture into the food processor and give it a couple of pulses to break down the cheese a bit more and better amalgamate the mixture.

Serve with crusty bread or crackers or use in a grilled cheese sandwich.

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