Sadly enough Whole Foods does not sell green plantains (well at least the one by my clients house), so I had a to buy a green one and wait about two weeks for it to ripen. I was anticipating experimenting making this soup. It contains two of my favorite things, corn and PLANTAINS. "The Dad" (p.s .I live in a Jewish household) was eyeing my plantains and asking what I was going to do with them. The day finally came it was nice and ripe and I had some free time to experiment. He asked, "So are you going to fry them, I usually dont eat fried food, but Ill make an exception for a plantain." In the back of my head I'm thinking - "Look at you, what you know about plantains!" I told him that I was making a plantain and corn soup.

The soup was great, I gave Dad a taste and for him it was too spicy, but yet he kept eating it. If you don't like spice either omit the pepper or use half. Its a great dish if you need something warm that will stick to your ribs. Corn is not in season, so depending where you are you may have to use frozen, but fresh is always better.

Enjoy!
Gourmet Diva

Plantain and Corn Soup (adapated from The Soup Bible)
Serves 4

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter
1 onion, minced
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 cups peeled and sliced yellow plantains
1 large tomato, peeled and chopped
1 cup whole corn kernels
1 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
3 3/4 cups vegetable broth
1 fresh chili (less if you don't like spice)
a pinch of nutmeg
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Procedure:
1. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and fry for a few mins until the onion is soft.
2. Add the plantains, tomato, and corn kernels and cook for 5 mins longer
3. Add the thyme, stock, green chili and ground pepper. Simmer for 10 minutes, or unitl the plantain is tender. Stir in nutmeg and serve at once.

Yikes, my last blog on my site was in August. A lot has happened between Jerk Tofu and Cucumber Sauce. I completed my course work at the Natural Gourmet Institute and also moved to Florida. A new venture as a private chef for a client that is recuperating from breast and lung cancer. Literally they packed up the Diva in a suitcase.

I made some chickpea burgers for dinner last week and it needed something, so I texted by Chef friend for some advice. He suggested a cucumber sauce. With the ingredients that I had on hand I concocted a cucumber sauce.

Tzatziki – Greek Yogurt and Cucumber Sauce

Yield: 3 1/2 cups

Ingredients:
3 cups Greek Yogurt (or regular plain yogurt, strained as described above)
juice of one lemon (about 3 tablespoons)
1 garlic clove, chopped
2 medium cucumbers, seeded and diced
about 1 tablespoon sea salt for salting cucumbers
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh dill
sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Procedure:

1. Peel cucumbers, then cut in half lengthwise and take a small spoon and scrape out seeds. Discard seeds.
   
   
2. Slice cucumbers, then put in a colander, sprinkle with salt, and let stand for 30 minutes to draw out water. Drain well and wipe dry with paper towel.
   
   
3. In food processor with steel blade, add cucumbers, garlic, lemon juice, dill, and a few grinds of black pepper. Process until well blended, then stir this mixture into the yogurt. Taste before adding any extra salt, then salt if needed. Place in refrigerator for at least two hours before serving so flavors can blend. (This resting time is very important.)
   
   
   Note: Quick and Dirty way – Don't have enough time to drain water and rest the yogurt. You can cut the cucumbers into small cubes (about 1/4th inch), use some garlic powder (or minces garlic) and blend into the yogurt.