September 2008

Hello all you Luna/tics.

September is here.

The tomatoes are coming in and the peaches are getting better and better.....
Life is good.

The squash vines that was planted all of a sudden are trying to take over the earth and we don't seem to have enough friends to give them all away to. Life is good.

I am happy to report that after a very long time, our back yard project is 97% completed, and we are living in the space just fine, thank you. The pool is working, the waterfall is incredible, and the bar is ready to be danced upon....

The 3% unfinished is up to the contractor that has dropped out of total sight from the finish work needed to get us out of their hair. But, unfortunately, many people have told us a number of contractors do this same thing: get the job rolling, get their scheduled payments, and then flake out on the finish items. Oh well. At least Gary and I are very capable of taking care of it ourselves. I will take some pictures later and send out to show the mostly finished yard and plantings for those of you interested.

But this is like saying don't have a baby because of dirty diapers: no, the space is everything we hoped it would be and more. A sanctuary of water, tropical plants, and entertainment. Yaa-hooo!!!

We planted over 700 plants, over half from my own pots of plants that I have been coddling since our move 2 years ago from the old house. They are just saying "Thank you" for getting them into the ground and letting them have their personal drip irrigation and their space to grow. And guess what? We don't have to hand water them anymore!!! Life is good.....

Isn't it funny how just over the last week end, the weather did that "turn" thing it does when we enter into a new season? That tiny little bit of cooling off at night that gets me so excited about FALL coming. Which means shorts ribs, stews, and long simmered dishes I seem to love so much. And yet I will probably be reminiscing about the good old days of summer past in just a couple of months: wondering where all the good tomatoes and peaches and squash are.....I wonder what is wrong with me? Never happy or the eternal optimist...which one? (Pollyana syndrome? maybe....)

Want to congratulate Alex on his new addition: a baby girl!! And he and his bride bought a new home on top of all this!! He is a happy daddy!

ANNOUNCEMENT: CAFÉ LUNA WILL BE CHANGING OUR HOURS THIS MONTH, SEPTEMBER TO TUESDAY THRU SATURDAY NIGHTS. I am just to selfish to work on Sunday evening. My employees want this day off, I want this day off, and so it will be happening in two weeks!!! We will start opening on Tuesday evenings for your nightly dinners with some new programs and promotions to follow.

THE MENU:
Have I ever told you I love soup? I had some wonderful wild mushrooms here the restaurant last week that I needed to do something with, so we made a Wild Mushroom and Roasted Poblano Soup that was killer!! I pan sauteed the mushrooms with some shallots and a bit of garlic very slowly until the started oozing out their liquids, char-broiled, steamed and peeled fresh Poblano chiles along with some fresh heirloom tomatoes, added some rich chicken stock and about 2 TBL. of heavy cream, pureed the ingredients together until smooth, and topped it off with a cilantro/scallion/sour-cream I placed in the blender to just top it with. Very excellent.

I am telling you this to let you know how soups can be inspired with what is at hand, and what you have in the refrigerator, pantry or on the counter. Soups are easy as long as you follow simple steps: extract as much flavor slowly as you can from your ingredients if cooking. If making cold soups or Gazpacho's, dice up and use as fresh as you can. I swear I am going to write a soup cook book someday......and you will know everything I know without the years of sweat, mistakes and mishaps I have experienced while experimenting. Flavors come together so well in a soup: it just may be the perfect meal: soothing, comforting, enriching and always welcome. And of top of that, most soups freeze well if you make too much! (just think of how you can amaze your friends by gently re-heating some of your wonderful creations)....

And yet at our house, Gary and I are always struggling to find something to eat when at home and on the rare occasions we are at home. We are so pantry over-loaded with condiments, items I have canned or "put up", but not any "food" per se. We don't shop for the house much, eating out or with friends, and seem to go for the "quick" dinners while thinking about staying in for the evening. He does 95% of our home cooking, letting me rest from the daily planning of cooking for the masses. And he always comes up with something wonderful. Life is good...

And so because of this, we are running soups all the time, season to season, month to month. So enjoy them. Make a meal out of them. Share your favorite recipes with me...I love soups.

Our Hot-Head Special this month is "Jerk Pork". Jerked items are the Caribbean version of Mexican mole's: many spices and vegetables and seasoning simmered to a sauce and then cooking meats or poultry in this sauce to a tender and spicy stew. Jerk sauce is very complex and I have been tweeking my recipe for this for years. I can tell you this: pork butt, chiles, allspice, thyme, brown sugar, vinegar, garlic, ginger....you get the idea. Did I mention chiles? This puree' makes a wonderful, spicy and very flavorful dish. Served with rice.

We are having Skirt Steak this menu. Skirt steak is one of those rare pieces of beef that is hard to find in the grocery store, because there just isn't that much of it available, except to us restaurant owners. (Monopoly?) So we are sharing this meat with you, my customers and friends. We are marinating it in some Cuban spices: oregano, dark beer, garlic and lemon juice, char-broiling to medium rare (suggested) and topping with a mild salsa made with Z & B Heirloom tomatoes, and then a bit of fresh avocado guacamole.... very nice....

Rack of Lamb: marinated in a mixture of (remember this::) Dijon mustard, fresh mint, garlic, olive oil, thyme overnight. Wiped clean, and pan-roasted in a hot oven for about 14 minutes and served with our mint and garlic pesto, drizzled with a mint oil made with fresh pureed mint, olive oil and then strained. Wonderful dish.

Eggplant Parmesan: fresh eggplant is a great substitution for meat if you are looking for one. My ex-stepmother, Gloria, always told me to take the large eggplants, slice them into ½" slices and then salt them lightly and place in a colander. This draws out the "bitter" taste some people associate with eggplants. I have found that the smaller Japanese eggplants do not require this "brining". I am using her 50 year old recipe for a tomato marinara sauce, fresh layers of Mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese, dredging the eggplant in egg and Panko breadcrumbs, pan-sauteeing them until golden, assembling the whole dish and baking until golden and bubbly. Vegetarians unite!!!

I am including a really good recipe for Tomato Bruschetta that you need to read several times to get the concept in your memory. This is a great, really great way to use up a lot of the tomatoes we have this time of year, and on top of that, the tomato "sauce" is a great item to again freeze for later "wowing" of your family or guests. A great quick roasted tomato sauce that goes with a myriad of dishes.....This one is for a great appetizer or a quick and light lunch or dinner. Served with a salad, you have a great meal....

I am in the process of a line of commercial products for sale to you, my customers. My logo is ready, my jars are ready, and now, I am just waiting to start the bottling process. Café Luna will be making a line of chutneys, spice blends, salsa's, sauces, and toppings for sale. Keep tuned for their release date......

As always, the attachments are in a PDF format, and if you want to write back, it is always appreciated. I enjoy this more than you can ever know.....
And if you have friends who want to be included on this list, just drop me an e-mail and I will put them on our list.

Take care all of you and thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support during these very strange days.....

David at Café Luna