Blog is 3! Celebrating with King Trumpets and Shishito Peppers!

Grilled King Trumpet Mushrooms &  Shishito Peppers on Rosemary Skewers
Baby Spinach and Rosemary Roasted Golden Soybeans
Toasted Sesame Oil & Tomato Water

Pleurotus eryngii
King Trumpet Mushroom also known as King Oyster, Eryngii, Pleorote du Panicaut,
Argonane, Bouligoule, Champignon de Garrigue, Cardoncello, Cardarello

Taste With The Eyes is 3 years old!

Cooking, photographing, writing, then ultimately sharing my culinary adventures on Taste With The Eyes is a source of much joy for me. This little food blog is an ongoing learning experience, a terrific creative outlet, and a source of pride. It has opened doors and provided new opportunities. It is the means with which to connect with fellow foodies, and a wonderful way make new friends with various interests and passions from all around the globe. I am grateful to have the opportunity to share food and ideas and experiences with you.

Reading your blogs provides an awesome source of inspiration, a conduit of creativity, and a heartfelt connection through your personal stories. Your enthusiasm is infectious. I cook, dine, laugh, and cry with you.

Your kind, knowledgeable, clever, and sometimes funny comments are deeply appreciated. I learn so much from you, way beyond food and cooking. You amaze and inspire me.

I thank you from the bottom of my heart!

The words above I penned on last year’s anniversary. Today, I feel the same, times 365. It is my absolute pleasure to get to know you through your blogs. And extra special this year – was a true honor to meet several bloggers in person at the San Francisco Foodbuzz Festival, in Chicago, and in LA at a food writing seminar. I never imagined on June 10, 2007 when I taught myself how to upload a photo of my family’s dinner at Charlie Trotter’s Kitchen Table (that’s me on the right), that this little hobby would blossom into such a gratifying experience.

In honor of the three year anniversary and the very first post, I turned to Charlie Trotter’s Vegetables cookbook for inspiration. His recipe for Grilled Porcini Mushrooms with Tomato Water became my muse. The journey began with fresh Shishito peppers and King Trumpet mushrooms…

Shishito Peppers are popular in Japan; thin-walled and mild with just a whisper of heat. Every once in a while, though, you’ll come across a hot one!

To cook shishito, simply toss in a bit of olive oil, throw them on the grill, finish with some sea salt. We’ll be grilling these all summer.

I wish you could smell the tomato water. It screams summer. Simply pureé beefsteak tomatoes in a food processor with some salt. Place the pureé in a fine mesh sieve and strain the juice. “Tomato water acts as the contrasting backdrop and further highlights the haunting characteristics of the mushrooms,” explains Trotter.

Soak rosemary sticks in water for a few hours. When grilling try to keep the leaves away from the direct fire so they don’t burn.

The stout King Trumpet grows wild on the buried roots of hardwood trees and is popular in Europe and Japan.

The stem and the cap of the King Trumpet are firm and thick-fleshed, so require more cooking time than other less “meaty” mushrooms.

Trim off only the very bottom of the mushroom then season with toasted sesame oil, salt and pepper. Toss the shishito with olive oil and salt. Thread the mushrooms and peppers onto the rosemary sticks.

Toss boiled soybeans with olive oil, coarse salt, and minced rosemary. Roast in a 350°oven for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden.

Toss baby spinach leaves with a drizzle of half olive oil/half toasted sesame oil, sea salt and fresh ground pepper.

Then add room-temperature rosemary roasted soybeans.

Grilling is a little tricky because the peppers cook faster than the mushrooms, and  you don’t want to burn the rosemary. I found that cooking over medium heat on a covered barbecue grill works best, check on them often.

Mound the spinach and soybeans on the plate. Place two mushroom skewers on the spinach. Finish with a drizzle of toasted sesame oil and a drizzle of tomato water.

The texture of King Trumpets is reminiscent of abalone. The taste is earthy, meaty, exotic! Extraordinary!

GIVEAWAY – My Gift To You

It would bring me great joy to send a copy of  Charlie Trotter’s Vegetables to each and every one of you. Alas, I can share my enthusiasm for the book with you all, but can only ship a copy to one of you. Hopefully, this small gesture will help to convey my gratitude. Simply leave a comment on this post by June 24th for a chance to receive your own copy of Charlie Trotter’s Vegetables. The fortunate recipient will be chosen using random.org. The winner will be posted on Taste With The Eyes on June 26th.

“Charlie Trotter is passionate about vegetables. In this glorious volume, he presents more than 80 recipes from his famous vegetable menu. In keeping with his commitment to serving seasonal produce, the recipes are divided into 12 chapters, one for each month of the year, based on when the dishes’ ingredients reach their zenith. If you favor the earth’s purest and most complexly flavored offerings, epiphany lies within the pages of Charlie Trotter’s Vegetables.“

This is one awe-inspiring cookbook! Good luck! Bonne chance!

Merci Beaucoup!

So, to Father Adam, Allison, Marie, Courtney, Stacey, Cynthia, Susan, Paul, Luiz, Laurie, Lori, Linda, Lisa, Nina, Peter, Joan, Claudia, Christina, Cristina, Ronell, Merisi, Chrystal, Amir, Simona, Matt, Josh, Danny, Darius, Alexa, Kiersten, Ryan, Dorian, Teri, Lynn, Dorothy, Greg, Val, Mardi, Penny, Debi, Jude, Marla, Sylvia, Mark, Marc, Jen, Jenn, Marvin, Paz, Ben, Kait, T.W., Giz, Psychgrad, Foodbin, Caveman, Natasha, Bren, Barbara, Pam, Kevin, Julia, Julie, Sylvia, Frank, Tash, Val, Erica, Erika, Sanam, Romee, Bee, Nuria, Emily, Rico, Charlotte, Lauren, Gail, Velva, Stephanie, Jonny, Amy, Sandi, Todd, Diane, Denise, Petrea, Krissy, Kristy, Judi, Amy, Sommer, Alison, Kathleen, Eileen, Jean, Vicki, Geri, Cherine, Nik, Kristi, Leah, Sara, Sarah, Heather, Molly, Deanna, Abbi, Sook, Tien, Kelly, Linn, Tori, Tom, Amanda, Dara, Mary, Ann, Elra, Alta, Joumana, Belinda, Elin, Maria, Shell, Carol, Hing, Kim, Scott, Dawn, Pamela, Elizabeth, Dennis, Juliana, Fifi, Rosa, Cara, Kathy, Lazaro, Tam, Roxan, Joy, Ivy, Reiko, Jeannie, Meghan, Abby, Skylar, David, Noelle, Casey, Nash, Olga, Louise, Audrey, Andra, Gina, Sally, Peggy, Peg, Davida, Lynn, Sasha, Cassie, Brian,  Janine, Stella, Noni, Anupama, Joann, Tony, Andrea, Laura, Mowie, Zara, Mo, Tony, Alissa, Poonam, Nancy, Teri, Abraham, Dee, Deeba, Grace, Bianca, Mickey, Erin, Bonnie, Liz, Katja, Ariel, Brooke, Joelle, and all my dear friends in the big bounteous blogosphere:

Thank you for your support, friendship, and inspiration!

Lori Lynn