With one other spherical of the coronavirus rolling by way of Arkansas, the oldsters in Options thought possibly all of us wanted some consolation — consolation meals, that’s. So we have requested our personal Northwest Arkansas celebrities to submit their favourite “Native Flavors,” and we’ll be sharing them with you all through the remainder of 2021.
A real celeb within the kitchen, Crescent Dragonwagon is understood internationally for her relationship with meals. To longtime Northwest Arkansans, she is remembered as founding father of Dairy Hole Home, a wildly well-liked nation inn and restaurant that helped outline the bed-and-breakfast idea in Eureka Springs within the Nineteen Eighties and ’90s. She can also be the writer of books like “The Cornbread Gospels,”https://www.arkansasonline.com/information/2021/sep/05/local-flavors-easy-as-a-smoothie-cucumber-soup/”Bean by Bean” and “Passionate Vegetarian,” which received the James Beard Award in 2002. She’s taught at Brightwater: A Heart for the Research of Meals, has appeared on tv, radio, in newspapers and blogs and wrote and appeared in “Till Simply Moistened: A One-Lady Present with Crumbs” at TheatreSquared in Fayetteville.
Now residing in Fayetteville, Dragonwagon shared this recipe for a novel consolation meals excellent for a sultry Labor Day weekend.
Chilled Cucumber Soup
“When the temperature is persistently above 80, there’s at all times a big canister of this chilly soup, each candy and savory and with an additional layer of chill from contemporary mint, in my fridge,” says Dragonwagon. “I’ve been identified to eat it for 2, even three, meals a day. It’s that good, and that nourishing, and it retains for 4 or 5 days.
“I prefer it with a hefty slice of excellent wholegrain sourdough bread, toasted and buttered; Soiled Apron’s breads are wonderful. It is also a very good starter for any Greek/Center Jap-ish meal, say an enormous olive-and-feta-studded Greek salad and a hummus or falafel sandwich, with some stuffed commercially made grapeleaves on the facet.
“Although I normally write very exact recipes, this one is inherently loosey-goosey, dependent as it’s on what number of cukes and inexperienced grapes you will have available, and whether or not you employ yogurt or buttermilk. Each batch is just a little completely different texturally and taste-wise, however it’s at all times good and so refreshing.
“If you may make a smoothie, you may make this. Yep, that is proper; no heating up the kitchen.”
Mix in your meals processor or blender:
About two elements chunked cucumber *
About one half inexperienced grapes, washed, picked over, and faraway from the stem
Pulse, to make a chunky puree. Add the next elements:
A handful of almonds or walnuts (uncooked, unsalted)
Just a few coarsely chopped inexperienced onions (scallions), roots and any robust tops eliminated; embody a number of inches of the of inexperienced tops.
A pair cloves contemporary garlic (or, in season, tender garlic scapes)
An entire lot of contemporary mint, stripped from the stem (or contemporary dill, or a mixture of the 2, together with just a little cilantro in case you like)
Slightly non-obligatory agave, maple syrup, or Swerve, to deliver up the sweetness of the grapes
Salt to style
Flip this puree into a big mixing or serving bowl, or an enormous fridge storage container with a lid. Now, stir in sufficient liquid to make it the consistency of a not-too-thick, textured smoothie. Observe: As a result of the elements and proportions fluctuate barely every time you make it, the precise shade of inexperienced varies, too. Typically it is fairly vivid, generally extra muted.
About half the liquid must be:
Unsweetened plain yogurt, buttermilk, Greek yogurt, or kefir (I really like the Brown Cow full fats plain); vegans can substitute non-dairy yogurt
The opposite half must be:
Water (I used to make use of vegetable inventory however lately am utilizing water.)
Whisk effectively, and style. Refrigerate.
Eat/drink/sip your means down. If you wish to fancy it up, scatter some minced herbs excessive, some sliced cukes in half-rounds or finely chopped.
Bliss on a sizzling afternoon.
Observe: The standard of the cukes is one factor that may make or break this. You need unwaxed, ideally Persian or Euro, however any selection will do so long as you have tasted it and ascertained that it’s candy, contemporary and crisp-crunchy, not bitter or smooth, and both seedless or younger sufficient that the seeds are barely shaped and tender. Usually, I depart a part of the cuke unchunked, and cube it rigorously, stirring it in on the finish for texture.
Discover out extra about Dragonwagon at dragonwagon.com. To recommend your favourite Northwest Arkansas celeb, e-mail bmartin@nwadg.com.
Sure, it’s her actual identify, says longtime Arkansas meals influencer Crescent Dragonwagon, one she selected when she married on the age of 16. “If I had had any concept what number of numerous hundreds of occasions I must clarify this ridiculous identify, I’d have chosen one thing rather a lot much less flashy,” she laughs now, however the identify is understood internationally for creations as distinctive as Chilled Cucumber Soup in addition to her writing.
(Courtesy photographs)
