Community Kitchen

I hope you are having a good summer. We only need the weatherman to cooperate.

Alice Bradley has sent me these following recipes and I am grateful.  She says, “I made the ribs and they were good with the unusual ingredients being the stout to tenderize the ribs first and the espresso powder in the sauce. If you don’t have espresso powder, I think you can use instant regular coffee granules.”

BARBECUE SPARERIBS
4 lbs. baby back ribs, either whole or cut into 2-3 rib pieces

Rub mix:
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons cumin
1 -1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 tablespoon black pepper
Mix the spices together and rub over the ribs. Place ribs in non corrosive pan or freezer bag and marinate for few hours or preferably overnight.
Place the ribs on a rack in a large baking pan. Use 2 pans if necessary.
Add 1 can or bottle of Guinness stout. Cover the pan tightly with foil wrap and bake at 350 degrees F for 1-1/2  to 2 hours.
Remove from pan, discard any drippings, Barbecue the ribs with the following sauce:
1 bottle  Bull’s Eye barbecue sauce (or use your favorite barbecue sauce if you prefer)
1/2 cup water
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon espresso powder
Mix these ingredients together and brush over the ribs and barbecue over moderately hot flame until the ribs are browned and nicely glazed. Keep brushing with glaze as the meat browns.  Serve immediately.

CORN, BEAN AND TOMATO SALAD
Alice writes that she made this corn salad last weekend for a large party and everyone liked it and some asked for the recipe.

1 pound green beans, cooked until tender crisp and then blanched in ice water to chill. Drain and cut in 1 inch pieces.
1/2 pound frozen edamame, boiled for a few minutes according to instructions on package and drained,
6 -7 ears of corn, boiled until tender, cool slightly and cut the kernels off the cob. I guess you could make it with frozen corn, using a tender variety of corn.
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
1-1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half

Dressing:
1/3 cup finely chopped basil
1 shallot, finely chopped
4 Tablespoons white wine vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste (at least 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.  Add more if needed.)
Combine the corn, green beans, edamame, red onion and cherry tomatos in a large bowl.
Whisk together the ingredients for the dressing and pour over the vegetables, toss and chill.
Garnish with a few tomatoes and parsley sprigs.

BLUEBERRY ORANGE BREAD
With blueberry season coming up, thought you might like to try this.
This makes an excellent 2 large  or 4 small loaves  and it is so moist and light. Freezes well too.

4 cups flour
1-1/2 cup sugar
3 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
4 cups blueberries, (if using frozen blueberries, keep frozen until it goes into the batter)
3 tsp. orange peel (optional)
2 eggs
1-1/2 cups orange juice
4 tbsp. oil

Topping:
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup melted or soft butter

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Generously grease and flour 2 large or 4 small bread pans.

With a spoon, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, soda and orange peel. Carefully fold in frozen or fresh blueberries.  Add lightly beaten eggs, orange juice and oil.  Mix carefully so as not to break blueberries.  Pour into prepared pans.

Mix all topping ingredients well by hand or with an electric beater.  Sprinkle on top of bread and place pans in preheated oven and bake 50 minutes for small pans; 1 hour and 15 minutes for large.  Check with toothpick and continue baking until pick comes out clean.