I just love ceviche. For years, I was afraid to try it - I was concerned about getting sick somehow from eating raw fish or shellfish, even though it’s “cooked” in acid (lemon and lime juice), which probably kills pretty much all the pathogens that might be on it.

Then a couple of years ago, my friend Barbara and I went to visit our friend Liz in Colorado. Of course, Mexican food is very popular there, and we ordered ceviche one night at dinner. It was great! Tangy, spicy, with the sweet shrimp and savory cilantro. I fell in love. There’s a Peruvian restaurant in Norfolk called Imperio Inca that has some delicious ceviche, as an appetizer and a couple of dinner platters. I tried making it myself once, but we weren’t crazy about how it turned out.

Then last month, Liz had a gallery opening at the d’Art Center and a party at her house afterward, where she served homemade ceviche, which was fabulous. Well, now I had to try it again. After looking through my cookbooks, I found a wonderful recipe for it in Cook’s Illustrated’s The Best International Recipe. So I made it again, and it was deee-lish! I bought a bag of lemons and limes so I can make it again!

Shrimp Ceviche

1 lb. large or extra-large shrimp, large sea scallops, fish fillets or a combination
1 tsp. grated zest of 1 lime
1/2 cup juice from 4 limes
1/2 cup juice from 4 lemons
1 small red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and chopped fine (I used a red pimento pepper)
1 small jalapeno chile, stemmed, seeded and minced
1 medium garlic clove, minced
Salt
1/4 cup olive oil
4 scallions, sliced thin
3 tbsp. cilantro, minced
1/2 tsp. sugar
Ground black pepper

If using shrimp, peel, devein and slice in half lengthwise (I also cut them into thirds). If using scallops, remove the side tendon and slice into 1/3-inch-thick rounds. If using fish, remove any bones and slice into 1-inch squares about 1/3 inch thick.

Stir the lime zest, lime and lemon juices, bell pepper, jalapeno, garlic and 1/2 tsp. salt together in a bowl. Gently stir in the seafood, cover with plastic, and refrigerate until seafood is firm, opaque and appears cooked, 45-60 minutes (mine took about 75 minutes - the shrimp should be pink). Stir about halfway through marinating.

Place the mixture in a fine-mesh strainer, leaving it a little wet, then return it to the bowl. Gently stir in oil, scallions, cilantro and sugar. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve with tortilla chips.

This is another entry for Grow Your Own, the twice-monthly food blogging event started by Andrea of Andrea’s Recipes about a year ago, and hosted this month by Noob Cook. GYO celebrates the food we grow ourselves. The red pimento and jalapeno peppers came from our garden. And check out the tomato jam, also from our garden!

The heirloom and roma tomatoes we planted this year are going gangbusters now, so I’ve had to become creative about preserving them. A few weeks ago, Dan and I went to the Seawall Art Show in downtown Portsmouth. On our way home we stopped at Bowman’s Garden Center, looking for onion sets for the garden, and instead we found a variety of organic, homemade dips and spreads for sale, along with samples.

So we tried tomato jam for the first time, and it was surprisingly good. The flavor made me think of strawberry jam, although it doesn’t really taste like strawberries - just something about it was reminiscent of them. The label said it contained tomatoes, sugar, citric acid and salt. Too easy, I thought, I can make that. So we came home and I Googled around for a while, and, after reading several recipes, came up with the following one. I added a tsp. or so of vinegar at the end, because it tasted a bit too sweet to me.

I also found a great alternative to blanching tomatoes for peeling them - grating them with the big holes on a box grater! It was so easy, I could hardly believe it, and took only a few minutes to make tomato puree out of about 12 roma tomatoes. The seeds are still there, but that doesn’t bother me; according to Cook’s Illustrated, much of the tomato flavor is in the seeds and surrounding “jelly.”

Tomato Jam

1 1/2 pounds good ripe tomatoes (Roma are best), cut in half crosswise and grated
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 jalapeno pepper, finely minced (forgot about this till after I first posted - see below)
1 teaspoon salt

Combine all ingredients in a heavy medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring often. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until mixture has consistency of thick jam, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning, then cool and refrigerate. This will keep at least a week. Makes about 2 cups.

This is my contribution to Grow Your Own, the twice-monthly blogging event created by Andrea of Andrea’s Recipes, hosted this time by Noob Cook.

ETA: Today, I took some of the tomato jam with fresh-baked biscuits to work and a co-worker asked me if there was anything hot in it. I completely forgot until that moment that Dan had suggested I chop up a jalapeno pepper from the garden and add it in for some more flavor. It’s not enough to make you go Ow, but enough to make you say, Hm, what’s in there?

Labor Day this year was absolutely gorgeous, sunny and warm, and we just took it easy. We had played poker with Danny and Sally, Paul and Terry, and Steve and Katie on Sunday evening, which was a lot of fun, and then Monday we just … basked in the sun and pulled a few weeds from the veggie garden. Then I remembered to take the ribs out, put a rub on them, and stash them back in the fridge for a few hours.

Then we put them on the grill, and about an hour and a half later, this is what we found:

Mmm, mmm, good Some time back, I made a batch of Neelys’ Dry Rub (from Food Network’s “Down Home with the Neelys,” which I don’t actually watch, but I figure they know their BBQ) for some baby back ribs; I’m pretty sure I made a third of the recipe, since there’s only the two of us. We still had some in the cupboard, so at about noon, I put a nice, thick layer on the spare ribs and put them back in the fridge to get spicy. Then Dan started grilling around 5:30 and dinner was ready by shortly after 7. These were so good, we will have to do them again … and again … He says they were made with luuuuuv, which is why they were so delicious. I’ll take his word for it.

Grilled Spare Ribs
Neelys’ Dry Rub:
1 1/2 cups paprika
3/4 cup sugar
3 3/4 tablespoons onion powder

4 lbs. pork spare ribs
1/2 cup of your favorite barbecue sauce, plus more for serving (because I like a *lot* of sauce)

Put the rub ingredients in a container with a lid and shake to combine. Sprinkle a good coating on the ribs, put in a gallon-size plastic zip-top bag, and refrigerate at least 4 hours. Grill for about 90 minutes. Brush with sauce for the last 10-15 minutes of grilling. Serve with extra sauce, if you’re a sauce fiend like me

This is my contribution to the Thursday Night Smackdown, Grilling Edition, hosted by Michelle. And the round-up of all the recipes is here. Looks like I owe Michelle some ribs, since I apparently missed the entire point of Thursday Night Smackdown, which is to cook something from a COOKBOOK. Like I don’t have enough of those in the kitchen that I read like novels, but don’t cook from enough. I’ll do better, I promise

My turn! This has been all over the food blogosphere this week.

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment here at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.

The Omnivore’s Hundred:

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile (unless it’s endangered)
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho (Vietnamese beef soup)
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi (Indian potato curry)
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses (a French cheese)
17. Black truffle (a variety of mushroom)
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche (South American milk-based sauce or candy)
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda (a warm anchovy and garlic dip)
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl - in San Francisco!
33. Salted lassi (a drink made by blending yogurt with water, salt, pepper, ice and spices until frothy)
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar - I’ve had cognac and I’ve smoked a cigar, but not together
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects - not sure where you can buy these around here
43. Phaal (really hot Indian curry)
44. Goat’s milk - I guess the cheese doesn’t count
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi (pickled Japanese ume fruit)
53. Abalone
54. Paneer (Indian cheese)
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini - I’m not a fan of bitter drinks
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine - (French fries topped with fresh cheese curds and gravy) Sounds great - I need to make this some time
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin (a mineral)
64. Currywurst (curry-flavored sausage)
65. Durian (really stinky fruit)
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis (boiled spiced sheep offal)
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette (stuffed animal intestines)
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini - I’ve had caviar and I’ve had blini, but not together
73. Louche absinthe (anise-flavored distilled beverage)
74. Gjetost, or brunost (Norwegian cheese made from cow’s and goat’s milk)
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu (Chinese distilled liquor)
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong (Chinese smoked black tea)
80. Bellini (an Italian cocktail made with Prosecco and peach puree)
81. Tom yum - one of my faves
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky (Japanese snack - biscuit stick coated with chocolate)
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa - I made harissa once, but not with rose petals)
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano - I’ll double-check the menu, but I’m pretty sure I had this at Tortilla West
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

I have a score of 41. Geeze, I have a ways to go, although I haven’t counted the ones I won’t eat. Some cultural taboos are just too much to overcome.

When we had our paella dinner party a couple of weeks ago, for an appetizer, I made this marinated melon dish, adapted from here, and used my little Pampered Chef whisk to stir up the dressing.

Marinated Canteloupe and Prosciutto

1 fresh, ripe cantaloupe
12 thin slices of jamón serrano (I couldn’t find serrano ham, so I used prosciutto)
1 scallion, finely chopped
8 tbsp olive oil
6 tbsp sherry vinegar
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Cut melon in half and scoop into balls with a teaspoon or melon baller. In a small bowl whisk together the oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Add the scallion and melon, mix thoroughly and chill for 2 hours. Shape ham or prosciutto slices into cones and serve with melon.

This is my entry in the August edition of Joelen’s Culinary Adventures, specifically for Tasty Tools.

This is my entry in the photo food blogging event, Click, hosted by Jai and Bee of Jugalbindi. We love having sangria during the summer and in my favorite recipe for it, a variety of citrus is the only fruit used. The citrus juice is so refreshing on a hot summer day, we often make a big pitcher just for the two of us.

This batch, though, was for serving at the paella dinner we hosted recently. I made two batches, one with pink wine, my favorite, and one with the traditional red wine.

Last Christmas, my mother-in-law, Barb, gave me a paella kit, among other lovely gifts. She knows how much I love to cook and have people over to cook for, so it was a really cool present It came with a bottle of Spanish extra-virgin olive oil, a bag of calasparra rice, a half gram of saffron, a paella pan and a recipe. So we just had to buy the meats, seafood and some of the veggies, since we used some tomatoes and onions from the garden.

We had two couples over for dinner last night and made the paella, and it was just delicious. I’m going to add to this post later, but I just wanted to get this photo up and show it to my MIL. Thanks, Barb

I learned how to make this dish last summer, and ended up making it almost every Sunday, so we could eat from the leftovers for a few days. We were renovating our kitchen, and I decided I had to become friends with the grill, and at long last get over my fear of lighting it. That fear came from an unfortunate incident when I was about 14 years old and singed my eyebrows because I didn’t know you were supposed to leave the lid open when lighting it Now I know.

Anyway, I came across a recipe for beer-can chicken and then a variation known as wine-butt chicken, because the can goes in the chicken’s butt, don’tcha know? I’m not a beer drinker, so we do the wine version and it’s unbelievably easy and delicious. The steaming liquid from the can flavors and moistens the chicken from the inside out, and look how crispy the skin gets!

It’s also really cool that this recipe illustrates how to extend the use of the grill by using it as an oven.

Grilled Wine-butt Chicken

1 3.5-4 lb. chicken
1/2 cup non-oaky white wine (we usually use Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc)
1/4 cup fresh herbs of choice, chopped, plus a few sprigs (can be one herb, or a mixture - thyme and basil are favorites of ours)
1 clove garlic, sliced
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 soda can, emptied and rinsed
1 8″x8″ aluminum pan

Light grill and turn burners to high; close lid. Carefully lift skin from chicken breast and insert chopped herbs between skin and meat. Fill can halfway with wine and put in herb sprigs and garlic. Insert can in chicken cavity and stand it up in the aluminum pan, with the can and the two legs acting as a tripod, so the chicken stands up. Tuck wing tips under.

Brush chicken all over with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Place chicken in pan on grill and close lid. One hour later, come back and check chicken’s temperature with an instant-read thermometer. It’s done when the thigh meat registers 165*F. Have a friend or loved one hold the chicken with tongs while you remove the can with another set of tongs, and put the chicken, breast side up, on a platter. Cover loosely with foil and let rest for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, grill up some veggies to have with this incredibly moist and delicious chicken. Enjoy

This is my entry in this month’s Monthly Mingle food blogging event, begun by Meeta of What’s for Lunch, Honey? and hosted this month by Sig of Live to Eat. And here’s the roundup of all the recipes submitted for this event. I’ll definitely be trying some of these.

I love this time of year My basil is just out of control and the roma tomatoes are finally coming in strong, so it’s caprese salad or something with pesto regularly now. I also need to get some pesto frozen for the winter. I like to put a tablespoon or so into marinara sauce and this recipe works even with thawed frozen pesto.

This is a really simple recipe, though. Everyone has their own basil pesto recipe, I’m sure, so I’m going beyond that to one of my favorite side dishes featuring pesto - pesto pasta. If your favorite pesto uses an herb other than basil, or cheese other than Parmesan, you can substitute those for the garnish. I like to use rotini pasta, because the crevices catch the pesto and you get a lot in each bite.

Pesto Pasta

1 lb. rotini pasta or other small pasta shape
1 cup basil pesto
1-2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil if needed
1/2 cup diced tomatoes
3 tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
basil leaves

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil; cook pasta till al dente, 8-10 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water to cool; remove to a large bowl. Using a large spatula, mix pasta and pesto together, adding 1-2 tbsp. olive oil if needed to loosen up the pesto. Garnish with diced tomatoes, Parmesan cheese and basil leaves.

This is my entry in the food blogging event Grow Your Own, begun by Andrea of Andrea’s Recipes and hosted this month by Jessica of Finny Knits.

Back in June, I won a cookbook featuring honey in an Iron Chef: Honey competition hosted by Joelen of Joelen’s Culinary Adventures. I thought it would be fun to use a recipe from that book to contribute to another blogging event where the idea was to bake small breads, but unfortunately, I was unable to get the entry typed and posted in time.

But I did make the scones And they were delish.

Savory Scones with Honey, Rosemary and Goat Cheese

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/3 cups semolina
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup mild herbal honey
1 large egg
1/2 cup cream or whole milk, plus more for brushing scones
1 1/2 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary, divided
5 oz. goat cheese

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. In a medium bowl, sift together the first five ingredients. In a separate bowl, combine olive oil, honey, egg, cream or milk, and 1 tsp. rosemary. Whisk just enough to break up the egg yolk and blend it with the honey.

Use a pastry cutter to work the goat cheese into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center and add the wet ingredients. Mix with a large spatula until the dough forms a ball. Knead gently several times and turn onto a lightly floured board. Knead again, just enough to form a workable ball.

Pat the dough down into a circular shape measuring about 8 1/2 inches in diameter and 3/4 inch thick. Cut with a knife or dough cutter into 8 or 10 pie-style wedges. Brush the tops with the cream or milk and sprinkle with the remaining rosemary. Place scones onto baking sheet about 1 inch apart. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until golden brown.

Serve with more goat cheese and honey, or honey butter.

From Covered in Honey by Mani Niall