Summer corn and cherry tomato salad with eggplant or avocado

Adapted from a recipe in this month's Sunset Magazine to conform with local ingredients at the Belmont Farmer's Market and what I have in the garden. Because of the stronger flavor of lemon and wine vinegar this recipe could be used on corn available all summer.

Calderon Market had sweet corn for .50c each. They are now going as far as Martinez. The Asian vendors had gorgeous eggplants. Most vendors had fabulous sweet cherry tomatoes.

Three heads corn husked and rinsed. Place in the 7" round pot with lid and cook in the solar oven for one hour in the summer position.

Let cool then remove kernels by running a knife blade down the sides. Then scrape the back of the knife down the husk to remove any leftovers from the kernels.

Cut one small eggplant in half inch cubes and salt in a colander. Rinse after a half hour, and bake in the solar over for one hour without the lid on the pot. With the Solar Sport both steps can be combined. Skip this step if using avocado.

Cut half a basket cherry tomatoes in half.
Chop half a small red onion small.
If not using eggplant core one avocado in small pieces.
Julian a handful basil and parsley as available.
Combine in a serving bowl.

For the dressing
Juice of 1/4 lemon
equal part wine vinegar
two parts olive oil if using avocado. Three parts for eggplant.
Salt to taste.
Chile cayenne pepper to taste.

Whisk and toss in the serving bowl.
Why solar cook?

Garlic Shitake with corn and tofu.

Adapted from Vegetarian by Linda Fraser, a set of recipes easily ported to a solar oven.

1 lb shitake from J&M.
Twist the mushroom stalk at the base to remove.

Mix together-
Chop the clear portion of the stalks.
Trim the kernels of the cob. Cut them off with the knife then use the back of the blade on scrape the cob and remove the part of the kernel that still remained. Brentwood corn made its first summer appearance this Sunday at the Belmont Market.
Chop two cloves garlic fine.
Chopped three spring onions.
Two tablespoons sesame oil.
One small block tofu cut into small cubes. I like Mori-nu organic tofu in a box available at Safeway and Wholefoods.
Salt and black pepper to taste.

Mix well and spoon into the caps. Place in the 5” oval roaster and cook for 90 minutes in the summer position.

Remove and drizzle sesame oil (two more tablespoons) and two tablespoons of soy sauce over the stuffed caps before serving.

Cooking in a solar oven exposes you to sun for brief periods of time which can be good. Since the solar sport is used without the reflector most of the year it doesn't have the intense concentrated reflections that the other ovens do which require sun shades.

Mustard greens with red potatoes
adapted from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison.

Mustard greens have a sharp smell and strong mustardy taste. Red potatoes also have a strong sweet smell and flavor. The two blend well together.

Our farmers market in Belmont does not have a vendor who carries mustard. However the Saturday market in neighboring San Mateo is wonderful with multiple vendors in many categories. There are both regular and organic varieties available here. The farmer’s market is located at the top of Hillsdale at the community college which is a steep invigorating bike ride away that takes about 25 minutes. The views from the top are unmatched in the Bay Area.

Trim the stalks of one bunch of greens then cut the leaves in one inch strips and then cut across the strips in two inch lengths. Trim the stalks fine discarding the hard lower portion. Layer into the 6” oval roaster. Salt the layers. At the top layer one or two garlic cloves chopped fine.

Pick red potatoes about two inches across. I get these from Raymond. Cut in half then half again. Fine slice the quarters and layer on top. Salt. Drizzle two tablespoons vegetable oil (I use safflower or sunflower) both grown in Northern California and available at Whole Food Markets. You can also use olive oil from the San Mateo or Belmont Farmers Market which is grown much closer in northern Napa. Top with a teaspoon of crushed dried chili peppers. (Place your farmers market chillies in a large flat basket in a cool dark place. They will dry out in six weeks. Dry in the sun for a couple of days then bottle for the winter.)

I had to bake for an hour and a half in the oven in the winter position with the reflector because there was a light haze. Then baked for another hour and a half with the reflector off. Mix throughly. Before serving warm. You can also top with a sharp cheese like Parmesan, gorgonzola, feta, or cheddar, only the last of which is available at the farmers market in San Mateo. There are more cheese varieties at the weekend farmer’s market in Berkeley.

The day started foggy and the sun didn't poke through until 11:00 AM. I had the oven ready to go at 11:30 and took the greens out at 2:30 PM. There weren't any clouds after 1:00 PM otherwise I would have left it in for another hour.