What I’m eating now

Whew, it sure has been warm out.  Summer seems to be leaving us only while kicking and screaming.  By late afternoon, the hot-hot Sonoma sun toasts the top of my head, I feel as I might self-combust.  I can only lay, bobbing in the pool for so long, I eventually go in search of a freezing cold glass of white wine and a meal of something fresh and cooling.

If any culture has perfected this, it must be the Thais.  I will never forget how amazed I was, practically drenched in sweat one sweltering Bangkok evening, as our gorgeous Thai waitress stood completely comfortable in a full length silk dress, not a speck of perspiration in sight.  So, it seems, we keep finding ourselves digging into one of the addictive cold salads at 599 Thai Café.

I adore everything about this charming little eatery, particularly the icy bottles of flowery, honey-scented, Navarro Dry Gewürztraminer, the absolute ideal wine to pair with the sometimes spicy, exotic flavors of Thai.  Truly, it is one of my favorite warm weather bottles and difficult to find outside of its Anderson Valley tasting room.  I might order the fresh summer rolls merely for the peanut sauce and a way of prolonging the pretty evening.  Almost like a salad, all rolled up in a strangely squishy wrapper, this version of the traditional fresh roll is always a fun, refreshing way to start.

My go-to summer dinner here is the most heavenly salad of chilled glass noodles tossed in a fish sauce heavy dressing, with generous flecks of lemongrass and teeny rings of fiery red bird chile.  This salad boasts nuggets of shrimp and toasted peanuts, the whole scrumptious pile tossed with fresh handfuls of torn cilantro.  A cold platter of minced, sautéed chicken is known as Larb, crunchy bits of green onion and slivers of red bell pepper, fresh herbs, and kaffir lime, are all drenched happily in a gingery vinaigrette.  A heaping portion of fresh, cold, poached calamari arrives green with chopped cilantro and lime leaf, perched on a bed of crisp romaine.  The vinegary dressing has a kick but is wonderfully sweet, the essential components of Thai cookery all here: hot, sour, salty, sweet. In a word, yummy.

In The Kitchen
We waited and waited for tomatoes all summer long and then, wow, overnight, we’re up to our necks in the gorgeous little orbs!  Soon, we will again, sadly be without fresh tomatoes.  Summer, on a plate.  Gone, just like that.  No more tomatoes with homemade tarragon mayonnaise or garlicky, fresh tomato pasta.  No more of my favorite chopped tomato bruschetta.  Sniff, sniff, boo-hoo.  This is typically the time when I begin to feel really lame that I am not in the kitchen morning, noon and night toiling over a huge, steaming pot of boiling water, canning every last tomato I can get my hands on, readying myself for the long, tomato-less months to come.  But, in this heat?  No way.  Here is my smart tomato saving technique: simply preserving them in Ziplock bags in the freezer.  Duh.  Start with only the tastiest tomatoes.  Place them whole, skin and all, into a Ziplock freezer bag.  Then, gently squash the tomatoes in the bag a bit, release the air and make it flat.  When you thaw your tomatoes, the skin will slip off easily and you’ll have peeled tomatoes all year long.  A freezer full of summer sunshine!

In season
Harvest time in Wine Country; probably one of the prettiest times of the year, crazy-time for all those winemakers out there.  I like to do my best to celebrate the grape bounty by drinking my fair share of Sonoma Valley wines, but why not eat them as well?  Wine grapes are so beautiful simply nibbled on straight off the vine, but roasted they become truly sublime.  Served on a platter of cheeses, they’re gorgeous, and so fun when paired with a steaky white fish or a pan-roasted pork chop.  Toss a bunch of grapes in a bit of olive oil, season with salt and pepper, possibly a scattering of fresh thyme or rosemary, and roast in a 425-degree oven for fifteen minutes or so.  An herb-laden foccacia is also fabulous when baked with wine grapes!  Find the recipe here on the next page.

Rustic Harvest Bread with Merlot Grapes

Adapted from David Tanis’ “The Heart of the Artichoke”

You don’t need wine grapes to make this recipe—any kind of sweet grape will do. Don’t skimp on the olive oil and coarse salt; they are what give this type of bread its characteristic texture.

• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 1 packet active dry yeast
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons fine-grained salt
• 1/2 cup olive oil (plus more for drizzling)
• 1 cup wine grapes or other grapes, seeded (or not)
• Several sprigs of rosemary, plus more to garnish
• A good handful of coarse salt for sprinkling

Mix yeast into 1/2 cup of the water in a large bowl, and ‘feed’ it with 3 tablespoons flour. Let sit until bubbly, about five minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients (except toppings: grapes, rosemary, coarse salt) and mix with a wooden spoon until it forms a sticky, shaggy ball. Sprinkle with a little flour, turn out onto the counter, and work with your hands just for a minute or so. The dough should be fairly wet and sticky, but form a cohesive mass. Lightly oil a bowl (to minimize dishes, wash the bowl you mixed the dough in and then oil it), place the ball of dough inside and cover the bowl with a damp tea towel. Allow to rise overnight. The next day, remove the dough from the bowl and place the ball into the center of a large piece of parchment paper or a pizza peel that has been sprinkled with flour. Press the dough into a large circle, between 1/4 and 1/2-inch thick. Allow the round of dough to rise again in a warm place for about an hour.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (if using a baking stone, place in the oven now).

Press grapes into the surface of the dough. Strip the rosemary from its stems, and, tearing it a bit and pressing with your hands to release its oils, scatter it over the dough. Lightly dimple the surface of the dough with the pads of your fingers. Drizzle generously with olive oil and sprinkle generously coarse salt—do not skimp here–and transfer the round of dough to the stone or a baking sheet. Bake for 25-35 minutes, or until golden brown. Garnish with more fresh rosemary sprigs, if desired.

Thirty second rant
It seems every time I am pondering the seafood selection at Sonoma Market, torn between the pretty pink trout filets and the wild, head-on, Louisiana Gulf shrimp, I overhear someone asking, “Is that fish fresh?”  Truly folks, do you ever expect that sweet fishmonger standing behind those ice-packed coolers to reply with a, “Oh no mam, that sea bass is nearly two weeks old?”

Foodie event of the week
The Third Annual Heirloom Expo, held at the Santa Rosa Fairgrounds, is the largest gathering of over 20,000 organic food enthusiasts and over 3,000 heirloom varieties of produce and livestock.  Also find inspiring speakers, music and yummy food to sample and purchase. The Sonoma Slow Food Chapter will be there so don’t miss this most anticipated food event of the year. Through September 12, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Find details at theheirloomexpo.com.

Kristin Jorgensen is one of Sonoma’s most passionate, food obsessed residents. In this weekly column, she covers all the delicious happenings, foodie events and restaurants in Sonoma, the rest of Wine Country and beyond.  Email her with comments, questions, or your food related events at [email protected].