grilled zucchini

• fresh zucchini
• olive oil
• coarse salt
• fresh ground pepper

Cut zucchini in half lenghtwise, season with salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil, or better yet spay some on if you have a Misto. Grill over a medium flame for about 10 minutes, turning once.

The dish: So it finally happened, the rain stopped for about 7 minutes and I was able to unwrap my grill from its cover and fire it up. For those of you who don't know me, I have a beautiful condo (technically my wife has it, she's just cool about letting me crash here) with a balcony about the size of an unfolded newspaper. There's no chance of me fitting one of those behemoth grills that seem to be so popular, and here in sunny New Windsor our elected officials have nothing better to do than dream up inane laws that prohibit me from having any bbq. All grilling that appears here is done on the down low using a grill that's about the size of a large shoebox (hey, like Bob Dylan said, if you're gonna live outside the law then you have to be honest). If you don't like zucchini, then try it grilled, it takes on a whole new flavor. It becomes crisp and moist all at once and begins to taste like the flame without overpowering the natural taste of the zucchini. It's one of my favorite veggies on the grill and I recommend trying it even if it means chancing a visit to the local kangaroo court.

hoppin' Juan

• 1 lb dried black eyed peas
• 1 lb chorizo (spicy Spanish sausage)
• 1 yellow pepper, chopped fine
• 1 orange pepper, chopped fine
• vegetable stock
• fresh garlic, chopped
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3 serrano peppers (or any other hot variety), seeded and chopped fine
• fresh cilantro, chopped fine

Soak the beans overnight. The next morning, saute the onion and garlic in a little olive oil for about 3 minutes, add hot peppers and turn flame off. Drain the beans, place in large crock pot. Add 1 container of vegetable stock plus one container full of water, onions and garlic mixture, and diced peppers, cook on high for two hours, then low for 6+. In the last hour of cooking add chorizo (it will already be cooked) and more liquid if needed. Garnish with cilantro and serve.

The dish: "Hoppin' John", as the bag of beans said, is a mixture of black eyed peas with Italian sausage and parsley. I had scored some great chorizo (Belmond Farms- awesome) and had designs of doing a dish like this before I ever saw the bag of Goya beans. I figured that the only material difference between hoppin' John and my dish was the slight Latin accent (not that kind of Latin) of the chorizo and cilantro instead of the sausage and parsley so I decided that "Hoppin' Juan" would be a good moniker. This was a great dish to come home to on one of the many rainy days that we've had recently and even tasted good cold as leftovers. For thousands of years people of all different cultures have believed that eating some variation of hoppin' John on New Year's Day would bring good luck in the coming year. Here we are at the midway point of this year and I hope that the good luck thing works as well now as it does in January. Have a great second half of 09 everyone!

radish canapes

• fresh radishes, sliced thin
• fresh baguette, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces
• spreadable cheese, I used rondele

Spread cheese onto slices of bread, top with radish slices and serve.

The dish: If you're new to the party, then you may not know that the red room is equipped with a deli slicer. I began slicer ownership with the idea of lunch meats and sandwiches, not thinking much beyond that. After the initial awe of making creations that would leave Dagwood jealous wore off, that's when the real learning began. Slicing veggies and bread wasn't something that I thought of the first time I took my slicer out of the box, but I can't imagine how I ever got along without it. There's an old saying, "if the only tool you have is a hammer, then everything will look like a nail". While this is true, figuring out new uses for your existing tools is a great compliment to acquiring new ones. I haven't figured out any thing else to do with a hammer, but I've learned that the usefulness of the slicer doesn't end when you're not eating cold cuts.

baked salmon with lemon and parsley

• salmon fillets, boneless and skinless
• 1 lemon
• whole garlic cloves, peeled
• fresh parsley, chopped

Marinate the salmon in the garlic and juice of the lemon. Cover fillet in parsley and bake at 300 degrees for 10 minutes or until cooked to desired doneness.

The dish: This is a pretty simple preparation, so make sure that you use only the freshest ingredients, as they have no sauce or crust to hide under. For the longest time I was never happy with the fish I made at home, but then it dawned on me that I was buying it from a guy named Larry out of the trunk of his Impala. I switched, and now I buy it at a local produce store and it's as fresh as can be. The stuff you buy "fresh" at the supermarket has been previously frozen, which doesn't always matter, but don't expect a simple dish like this to shine using it. If you haven't already you really should start adding some salmon to your diet as it's about the best source for Omega-3s which do everything from slow cancerous growths to boost your mood. Your body needs Omega-3s and can't store them so the only way that you can be sure you have enough is to make a point to eat more fish, fatty ones like salmon in particular. If you're undecided about what to do for dinner, click on the salmon link before and pick out one of the many recipes on here that appeals to you. Your body will thank you.

sauteed kale

• fresh kale, roughly chopped into bite sized pieces
• fresh garlic, chopped fine
• nutmeg
• coarse salt
• red pepper flakes (I use Simply Organic)
• 3/4 cup of vegetable stock
• sherry vinegar (or any red wine vinegar)

In a swirl of olive oil over a medium-high flame, saute the garlic and red pepper for 3-5 minutes. Add the veggie stock and stir for about a minute. Begin adding the kale in batches, letting each one wilt a bit before adding the next. Once all is added, season to taste with salt, vinegar and just a touch of nutmeg (thanks Rachael Ray). Reduce flame to low and continue to cook an additional 5+ minutes, or until kale is tender. Add more stock if needed.

The dish: I know a few posts back I promised you were reading what was the beginning of a long and exciting bbq phase of the red room. Turns out that Mother Nature has made a liar of me and my grill has sat under its cover for pretty much all of June, just as it did in the chilly winter months. If you're reading this from the lovely Empire State, then you're probably wet and not quite sure what the sun looks like anymore. As it happens in life, while I was in the middle of bitching about the impact the rain has had on my biking (or lack of), I bumped into someone far worse off because of this crazy weather. I was at the farmer's market and got to talking to a few of the vendors whose crops were rotting under water with no end to the rain in site. Couple that with low attendance at the markets because people are afraid of getting wet, and you've got a recipe for disaster. Farmer's don't have it easy anywhere, and in our region where land is in pretty high demand for the never ending suburban sprawl, disastrous weather can be the proverbial straw on the camel's back. The easy solution of course, is for all of us to do our best that when possible we eat something that was grown close to home. Check around for a farmer's market in your neck of the woods, if you're around Goshen on Fridays theirs is great (Bialas Farms is my fav, but all the farms are good). Not only will your food taste better and be better for you, but you'll be supporting an important way of life that's quickly vanishing. So with this crazy weather we've been having, go ahead and put on that sweater that you packed away long before June, stop payment on the check to the global warming folks and take that cash to your local farmers market and pick up some kale or any of the other delicious veggies they have.

gnocchi in red sauce with spinach and sausage

• 1 lb gnocchi
• 1 can crushed tomatoes
• 1 can tomato paste
• 1 can diced tomatoes, drained
• 1 bag fresh baby spinach
• 1 package good quality sausage
• fresh garlic, chopped fine
• 1 large onion, chopped fine
• shredded parmesan cheese

In a large dutch oven or cast iron pot cook the sausage over a medium flame until just done. Remove from pot and chop into bite sized pieces, set aside. In same pan saute garlic and onion over a medium-high flame for 3-5 minutes. Add tomato paste and cook for an additional 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the crushed and diced tomatoes, bring to a simmer, cover and reduce heat, cooking for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, begin to cook gnocchi according to package directions. Add spinach and sausage back to sauce. Spoon sauce over cooked pasta, sprinkle cheese on top.

The dish: Somebody sent me an email message that was titled "the death of common sense" where it went on about how stupid most of us are. While I'd like to think that I haven't grown that cynical (yet), there are certain things that leave me wondering, "what are they thinking". The now defunct no carb diet craze did just that. I can see the virtue of limiting your carbs, especially if you have health concerns that would benefit from doing so, but the diet a few years back just went to a crazy extreme. There were scores of people that were afraid to eat a carrot but poured bacon and beef down their throat with a reckless abandon. Carbs are the basic building blocks of energy for your body and without them you'd feel lethargic. Like anything else there's good carbs and bad carbs and too much of even a good thing can quickly become quite the opposite. I bring this up in defense of gnocchi, a potato based pasta (carbs on carbs, roll over Dr. Atkins). You wouldn't want to eat this every day, but as an every now and again treat it's spectacular. Just go into the meal knowing that you're indulging in something special, unlike those carb counters who inhaled backfat in the name of good health.

dirty water dogs

• 1 package of good quality hot dogs (Nathan's or Sabrett)

Fill up your crock pot about halfway with water, place dogs in and cook on low for 3-4 hours.

The dish: There aren't many things better than spotting the familiar yellow and blue umbrella resting on the top of a Winnebago or trailer on the side of the road. Like few other things in my life, the sight conjures up a Pavlovian reflex in me where I flick on my turn signal and slow my car down so as not to kick up a cloud of dust in the undoubtedly gravel parking area. No matter where I'm headed to or coming from I ALWAYS stop and try a dog, eager to see each vendor's take on the American classic. So if you're like me, cooking dogs at home can be a bit of a challenge as the bar is set pretty high. People typically use one of three methods to cook dogs at home;

1. they fry them
2. they grill them
3. they boil them

The first two don't involve any H2O, so not replicating a good dirty water dog shouldn't come as a surprise, but the third always left me scratching my chin (what's left of it after all those dogs). I use the same brand, and yet mine come out mealy and with broken skin. Then it hit me (cue clouds parting), what's the first thing your town has you do after a water main break? You boil your water to make sure it's safe to drink. Obviously, if boiling water makes it clean, using it to cook a perfect dirty water dog makes about as much sense as grilling or frying them. The guy (or gal, as in the case of Nick's Hot Dogs, best in New Windsor/ Newburgh area) under that yellow and blue umbrella doesn't have a pot of boiling water, but rather a reservoir of warm water that the dogs sit in awhile. Using the crock pot produces the exact same effect and the taste will transport you to the shoulder of the road or a busy avenue sidewalk or wherever you eat your favorite dirty water dog.