This post also could be titled, “What I ate for my birthday picnic”, but there’s also a recipe for a dry rub that I’ve been tweaking with and using all summer on an abundance of summer squash, tofu and tempeh.

The idea started in a cookbook for The Grit restaurant that our lovely friend, Michael, sent to us as a surprise gift. The recipe involved taking cubed tofu and sauteing, adding more stuff, sauteing, more stuff, etc. Since I have my moments of being a lazy cook…. Alright, I’m mostly a lazy cook despite what my forays into Japanese and Indian cuisine might lead you to believe, so I started doing a kind of dry rub with nutritional yeast, garlic powder, and freshly ground black pepper.

Then Dave posted a link for a short article about what to do with all that summer squash you might have laying around. This year we planted too many and they’ve done so well that I’ve been seen at a local pub begging strangers to take a zucchini (seriously). What caught my eye was a little recipe that very similar what I’d been doing with tofu for a while, only baked and with the addition of polenta. Dave noted it was a bit too gritty and crunchy, but the corn flavor was really great, so I played around a bit more and now have a recipe to share!

The Stuff

• 1/2 c fine corn meal
• 1/4 c fine flake nutritional yeast
• 1 t poultry seasoning*
• 1/2 t granulated garlic
• 1/2 t onion powder
• 1/4 to 1/2 t sea salt
• 1/4 t freshly ground black pepper

*While visiting New Orleans I made use of the Jack Miller’s Cajun All-Purpose Seasoning and have used it instead of the poultry seasoning for a spicy, lip-smackin’ good version of this rub. When I do that, I usually reduce or just skip the sea salt since the seasoning mix has salt in it.

The Making

A Pile of BBQ Goodness!

Mix it all together in a bowl. Store in a small, air-tight jar. Keeps for a few weeks, longer in the fridge. You can use it as you need it, a whole recipe will coat a large block of super-firm tofu (20 oz.) AND a few zucchini, cut up, as well.

To use, put some in shallow dish or on a plate. Dredge tofu, veggies, tempeh, etc. in the mixture, coating well. Let sit for 15-30 minutes to really get stuck on and soaked in some (honestly, you can skip this step and you’ll still have tasty food).

Get a BBQ or cast iron grill pan on medium-high heat (*if using cast iron, bring pan up to heat, then reduce to medium-low to keep the pan and perfect searing heat). Spray a nice coating of high-heat Canola oil.

Throw your dredged stuff on the BBQ or cast iron grill pan for about 5 minutes each side. Spray the dry side before flipping.

Pack it up, take it on a picnic!

Fresh Peach Galettes for Dessert

The past few years I’ve really loved these fresh fruit galettes from Sweetpea Baking Company. The peaches have been especially delicious this year, so these galettes were extra wonderful. Not that I don’t love a good slice of cake, but there’s something about these simple, hand-formed tarts that really make me think of my birthday and summer.

Happy Hearts (Dora and Sherri, August 26, 2012, Tryon Creek State Park)

A pudi, or “Powder” in Hindi, is part spice blend and part thickener used in many Indian dishes, especially soups or stews. Rather than breaking down all the spices, grains and legumes at the time of cooking a dish, like sambar, they are mixed together in a fine powder that can then be added when needed to a dish.

This particular pudi is used to thicken and richly flavor sambar, a lentil stew.

2 teaspoons chana dal
1 teaspoon red lentils
1 teaspoon brown lentils or yellow split peas
1/4 teaspoon peppercorns
2 Tablespoons coriander seeds
1 Tablespoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
1 Tablespoon long-grain rice, raw
2-inches cinnamon stick
20 fresh kari leaves (or 1 teaspoon crushed, dried)
3 dried red chilies (stemmed, seeded, broken into pieces)

Preheat a large skillet, add all ingredients and toast over a medium heat until the mixture is very aromatic and the rice has toasted brown.

Cool mixture and grind into a fine powder*

Sambar pudi will keep in the refrigerator for up to 6 months in an airtight, glass jar. 3 months if kept unrefrigerated.

*I have found that a small, electric coffee grinder works nicely. Run a tablespoon or two of raw, white rice through first to clear out coffee residue. After grinding pudi run more raw rice to clean again.